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Makers  of  Electricity 


BY 

BROTHKR  POTAMIAN,  F.S.C,  D.Sc,  I^nd. 

PROFESSOR  OP  PHYSICS  IN  MANHATTAN  COI,I.EGB,  N.  Y. 


JAMES  J.  WAI.SH,  M.  D.,  Ph.D.,  I.I..D. 

DEAN  AND  PROFESSOR  OF  NERVOUS  DISEASES  AND  OF  THE  HISTORY 
OF  MEDICINE  AT  FORDHAM  UNIVERSITY  SCHOOIv  OF  MEDI- 
CINE ;    PROFESSOR  OF  PHYSIOI^OGICAI.  PSYCHOLOGY 
AT  THE   CATHEDRAI,   COI,I,EGE,  NEW  YORK 


FORDHAM  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

NEW  YORK 
1909 


THE  CAIHlK.NE  B.  O'CONNOR  LIBRARV 
WESTON  OBSERVATORY 


5/4- 


Copyright,  1909, 

I^ORDHAM  University  Prbss> 

New  York. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRAR 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MA 021 67 


PREFACE 

This  volume  represents  an  effort  in  the  direction  of 
what  may  be  called  the  biographical  history  of  elec- 
tricity. The  controlling  idea  in  its  preparation  was  to 
provide  brief  yet  reasonably  complete  sketches  of  the 
lives  of  the  great  pioneer  workers  in  electricity,  the 
ground-breaking  investigators  who  went  distinctly  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  what  was  known  before  their  time, 
not  merely  to  add  a  fringe  of  information  to  previous 
knowledge,  but  to  make  it  easy  for  succeeding  genera- 
tions to  reach  conclusions  in  electrical  science  that  would 
have  been  quite  impossible  until  their  revealing  work 
was  done.  The  lives  of  these  men  are  not  only  interest- 
ing as  scientific  history,  but  especially  as  human  docu- 
ments, showing  the  sort  of  men  who  are  likely  to  make 
great  advances  in  science  and,  above  all,  demonstrating 
what  the  outlook  of  such  original  thinkers  was  on  all  the 
great  problems  of  the  world  around  us. 

In  recent  times,  many  people  have  come  to  accept  the 
impression  that  modern  science  leads  to  such  an  ex- 
clusive occupation  with  things  material,  that  scientists 
almost  inevitably  lose  sight  of  the  deeper  significance  of 
the  world  of  mystery  in  which  humanity  finds  itself 
placed  on  this  planet.  The  lives  of  these  great  pioneers 
in  electricity,  however,  do  not  lend  the  slightest  evidence 
in  confirmation  of  any  such  impression.  They  were  all 
of  them  firm  believers  in  the  existence  of  Providence,  of 
a  Creator,  of  man's  responsibility  for  his  acts  to  that 


iv  PREFACE 

Creator,  and  of  a  hereafter  of  reward  and  punishment 
where  the  sanction  of  responsibility  shall  be  fulfilled. 
Besides,  they  were  men  characterized  by  some  of  the 
best  qualities  in  human  nature.  Their  fellows  liked 
them  for  their  unselfishness,  for  their  readiness  to  help 
others,  for  their  devotedness  to  their  work  and  to  their 
duties  as  teachers,  citizens  and  patriots.  Almost  with- 
out exception,  they  were  as  far  above  the  average  of 
mankind  in  their  personal  ethics  as  they  were  in  their 
intellectual  qualities. 

The  lives  of  such  men,  who  were  inspiring  forces  in 
their  day,  are  as  illuminating  as  they  are  instructive  and 
encouraging.  Perhaps  never  more  than  now  do  we  need 
such  inspiration  and  illumination  to  lift  life  to  a  higher 
plane  of  purpose  and  accomplishment,  than  that  to  which 
it  is  so  prone  to  sink  when  material  interests  attract 
almost  exclusive  attention. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.    Peregrinus  and  Columbus 1 

II.    Norman  and  Gilbert 29 

III.  Franklin  and  some  contemporaries    ...  68 

IV.  Galvani,  discoverer  of  animal  electricity     .  133 
V.  Volta,  the  founder  of  electrical  science  .    .  162; 

VI.     Coulomb 188 

VII.    Hans  Christian  Oersted 205 

VIII.    Andre  Marie  Ampere 232 

IX.  Ohm,  the   founder  of  mathematical  elec- 
tricity      258 

X.    Faraday 299 

XL     Clerk  Maxwell 334 

XII.    Lord  Kelvin 361 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

The  double  pivoted  needle  of  Petrus  Peregrinus  19 

First  pivoted  compass,  Peregrinus,  1269      ...  17 

Magnetic  Declination  at  New  York 21 

*'  San  Francisco     ....  21 

in  London,  in  1580  and  1907  23 

First  dip-circle,  invented  by  Norman  in  1576     .    .  29 

Norman's  illustration  of  magnetic  dip     .      ...  31 

Gilbert's  orb  of  virtue,  1600 32 

Behavior    of    compass-needle    on  a   terrella    or 

spherical  lodestone 44 

Gilbert's  "versorium"  or  electroscope     ....  69 

Gordon's  electric  chimes,  1745 75 

Modern  form  of  Ley  den  jar,  with  movable  coatings  87 

Three  coated  panes  in  series 89 

' '     panes  in  parallel       89 

"     jars  in  parallel 90 

"     jars  in  cascade 90 

Discharge  by  alternate  contacts       94 

Tassel  of  long  threads  or  light  strips  of-  paper  .    .  101 

Procopius  Divisch  (1696-1765) 108 

The  Divisch  lightning  conductor  (1754)       .      .      .  Ill 

Set  of  pointed  rods 112 

Galvani  (portrait)  opposite  page      .    .    .    .    .    .  133 

Volta              "             "          "         162 

Oersted          "             "          "         205 

Ampere          "             "          " 232 

Faraday         "             "          " 299 

Clerk  Maxwell  (portrait)  opposite  page    ....  334 

Lord  Kelvin               "             "          "       .     .     .     .  361 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Peregrinus  and  Columbus. 

The  ancients  laid  down  the  laws  of  literary  form  in 
prose  as  well  as  in  verse,  and  bequeathed  to  posterity 
works  which  still  serve  as  models  of  excellence.  Their 
poets  and  historians  continue  to  be  read  for  the  sake  of 
the  narrative  and  beauty  of  the  style ;  their  philosophers 
for  breadth  and  depth  of  thought ;  and  their  orators 
for  judicious  analysis  and  impassioned  eloquence. 

In  the  exact  sciences,  too,  the  ancients  were  conspicu- 
ous leaders  by  reason  of  the  number  and  magnitude  of 
the  discoveries  which  they  made.  You  have  only  to- 
think  of  Euclid  and  his  "Elements,"  of  Apollonius  and 
his  Conies,  of  Eratosthenes  and  his  determination  of 
the  earth's  circumference,  of  Archimedes  and  his  men- 
suration of  the  sphere,  and  of  the  inscription  on  Plato's 
Academy,  Let  none  ignorant  of  geometry  enter  my  door, 
to  realize  the  fondness  of  the  Greek  mind  for  abstract 
truth  and  its  suppleness  and  ingenuity  in  mathematical 
investigation. 

But  the  sciences  of  observation  did  not  advance  with 
equal  pace ;  nor  was  this  to  be  expected,  as  time  is  an 
essential  element  in  experimentation  and  in  the  collec- 

(1) 


2  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

tion  of  data,  both  of  which  are  necessary  for  the  framing 
of  theories  in  explanation  of  natural  phenomena. 

The  slowness  of  advance  is  well  seen  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  twin  subjects  of  electricity  and  magnetism. 
As  to  the  lodestone  ,with  which  we  are  concerned  at  pres- 
ent, the  attractive  property  was  the  only  one  known  to 
ancient  philosophy  for  a  period  of  six  hundred  years, 
from  the  time  of  Thales  to  the  age  of  the  Caesars,  when 
Lucretius  wrote  on  the  nature  of  things  in  Latin  verse. 

Lucretius  records  the  scant  nagnetic  knowledge  of 
his  predecessors  and  then  proceeds  to  unfold  a  theory 
of  his  own  to  account  for  the  phenomena  of  the  wonder- 
working stone.  Book  VL  of  "De  Natura  Rerum" 
contains  his  speculations  anent  the  magnet,  together 
with  certain  observations  which  show  that  the  poet  was 
not  only  a  thinker,  but  somewhat  of  an  experimenter  as 
well.  Thus  he  recognizes  magnetic  repulsion  when  he 
says:  **It  happens,  too,  at  times  that  the  substance  of 
the  iron  recedes  from  the  stone  as  if  accustomed  to  start 
back  from  it,  and  by  turns  to  follow  it." 

This  recognition  of  the  repelling  property  of  the 
lodestone  is  immediately  followed  by  the  description  of 
an  experiment  which  is  frequently  referred  to  in  works 
on  magnetic  philosophy.  It  reads:  "Thus  have  I  seen 
raspings  of  iron,  lying  in  brazen  vessels,  thrown  into 
agitation  and  start  up  when  the  magnet  was  moved  be- 
neath "  ;  or  metrically. 

And  oft  in  brazen  vessels  may  we  mark 
Ringlets  of  Samothrace,  or  fragments  fine 
Struck  from  the  valid  iron  bounding  high 
When  close  below,  the  magnet  points  its  powers. 

This  experiment,  seen  and  recorded  by  Lucretius,  is 
of  special  interest  to  the  student  of  magnetic  history 


PEHEGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  Z 

because  of  the  use  which  is  made  of  iron  filings  and  also 
because  it  has  led  certain  writers  to  credit  the  poet  with 
a  knowledge  of  what  is  known  to-day  by  the  various 
names  of  magnetic  figures,  magnetic  curves,  magnetic 
spectrum.  We  do  not,  however,  share  this  view,  because 
we  see  no  adequate  resemblance  between  the  positions 
assumed  by  the  bristling  particles  of  iron  in  the  one 
case,  as  described  by  the  Roman  poet,  and  the  continu- 
ous symmetrical  curves  of  our  laboratories  in  the  other. 
If  Lucretius  noticed  such  curves  in  his  brazen  vessels, 
he  does  not  say  so  ;  nor  does  the  meagre  description  of 
magnetic  phenomena  given  in  Book.  VI.  warrant  us  in 
assuming  that  he  did. 

The  use  of  iron  filings  to  map  out  the  entire  field  of 
force  that  surrounds  a  magnet  was  unknown  to  classi- 
cal antiquity ;  it  was  not  known  to  Peregrinus  or  Roger 
Bacon  in  the  thirteenth  century  or  even  to  Gilbert  in 
the  sixteenth.  The  credit  for  reviving  the  use  of  filings 
and  employing  them  to  show  the  direction  of  the  result- 
ant force  at  any  point  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  magnet, 
belongs  to  Cabeo,  an  Italian  Jesuit,  who  described  and 
illustrated  it  in  his  "Philosophia  Ma^netica,"  pubHshed 
at  Ferrara  in  the  year  1629.  On  page  316  of  that  cele- 
brated work  will  be  found  a  figure,  the  first  of  the 
kind,  showing  the  position  taken  by  the  filings  when 
plentifully  sifted  over  a  lodestone  :  thick  tufts  at  the 
polar  ends  with  curved  lines  in  the  other  parts  of  the 
field. 

The  Samothracian  rings  mentioned  in  the  passage 
quoted  above  were  light,  hollow  rings  of  iron  which, 
for  the  amusement  of  the  crowd,  the  jugglers  of  the 
times  held  suspended  one  from  the  other  by  the  power 
of  a  lodestone. 


4  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Writing  of  the  lodestone,  Lucretius  says  : 

Its  viewless,  potent  virtues  men  surprise, 

Its  strange  effects,  they  view  with  wondering  eyes, 

When  without  aid  of  hinges,  Hnks  or  springs 

A  pendent  chain  we  hold  of  steely  rings. 

Dropt  from  the  stone— the  stone  the  binding  source— 

Ring  cleaves  to  ring  and  owns  magnetic  force  ; 

Those  held  above,  the  ones  below  maintain  ; 

Circle  'neath  circle  downward  draws  in  vain 

Whilst  free  in  air  disports  the  oscillating  chain. 

Though  the  Roman  poet  was  acquainted  with  two  of 
the  leading  properties  of  the  lodestone,  viz. ,  attraction 
and  repulsion,  there  is  nothing  in  the  lines  quoted  above 
or  in  any  other  lines  of  his  great  didactic  poem  to  indi- 
cate that  he  was  aware  of  the  remarkable  difference 
which  there  is  between  one  end  of  a  lodestone  and  the 
other.  The  polarity  of  the  magnet,  as  we  term  it,  was 
unknown  to  him  and  remained  unknown  for  a  period 
of  1200  years. 

During  that  long  period  nothing  of  importance  was 
added  to  the  magnetic  lore  of  the  world.  True,  a  few 
fables  were  dug  out  of  the  tomes  of  ancient  writers 
which  gained  credence  and  popularity,  partly  by  reason 
of  the  fondness  of  the  human  mind  for  the  marvelous, 
and  partly  also  by  reason  of  the  reputation  of  the  au- 
thors who  stood  sponsors  for  them. 

Pliny  (23-79  A.  D.)  devotes  several  pages  of  his 
"  Natural  History  "  to  the  nature  and  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  various  kinds  of  lodestones,  one  of  which 
was  said  to  repel  iron  just  as  the  normal  lodestone 
attracts  it.  Needless  to  say  that  the  mineral  kingdom 
does  not  hold  such  a  stone,  although  Pliny  calls  it 
theamedes  and  says  that  it  was  found  in  Ethiopia. 

Pliny  is  responsible  for  another  myth   which  found 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  5 

favor  with  subsequent  writers  for  a  long  time,  when  he 
says  that  a  certain  architect  intended  to  place  a  mass  of 
magnetite  in  the  vault  of  an  Alexandrian  temple  for  the 
purpose  of  holding  an  iron  statue  of  Queen  Arsinoe  sus- 
pended in  mid-air.  Of  like  fabulous  character  is  the 
oft-repeated  story  about  Mahomet,  that  an  iron  sarco- 
phagus containing  his  remains  was  suspended  by  means 
of  the  lodestone  between  the  roof  of  the  temple  at 
Mecca  and  the  ground. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mahomet  died  at  Medina  and  was 
buried  there  in  the  ordinary  manner,  so  that  the  story 
as  currently  told  of  the  suspension  of  his  coffin  in  the 
"Holy  City"  of  Mecca,  contains  a  twofold  error,  one 
of  place  and  the  other  of  position.  By  a  recent  (1908) 
imperial  irade  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  the  tomb  is  lit 
up  by  electric  light  in  a  manner  that  is  considered 
worthy  of  the  ''Prophet  of  Islam." 

Four  centuries  after  Pliny,  Claudian,  the  last  of  the 
Latin  poets  as  he  is  styled,  wrote  an  idyl  of  fifty-seven 
lines  on  the  magnet,  which  contains  nothing  but  poetic 
generalities.  St.  Ambrose  (340-397)  and  Palladius  (368- 
430),  writing  on  the  Brahmans  of  India,  tell  how  certain 
magnetic  mountains  were  said  to  draw  iron  nails  from 
passings  ships  and  how  wooden  pegs  were  substituted 
for  nails  in  vessels  going  to  Taprobane,  the  modern 
Ceylon.  St.  Augustine  (354-430)  records  in  his  "De 
Civitate  Dei"  the  wonder  which  he  felt  in  seeing 
scraps  of  iron  contained  in  a  silver  dish  follow  every 
movement  of  a  lodestone  held  underneath. 

With  time,  the  legendary  literature  of  the  magnet 
became  abundant  and  in  some  respects  amusing.  Thus 
we  read  of  the  "flesh  "  magnet  endowed  with  the  ex- 
traordinary power  of  adhering  to  the  skin  and  even  of 


6  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

drawing  the  heart  out  of  a  man;  the  "gold"  magnet 
which  would  attract  particles  of  the  precious  metal  from 
an  admixture  of  sand;  the  "white  "  magnet  used  as  a 
philter ;  magnetic  unguents  of  various  kinds,  one  of 
which,  when  smeared  over  a  bald  head,  would  make  the 
hair  grow ;  magnetic  plasters  for  the  relief  of  headache ; 
magnetic  applications  to  ease  toothaches  and  dispel 
melancholy ;  magnetic  nostrums  to  cure  the  dropsy,  to 
quell  disputes  and  even  reconcile  husband  and  wife.  No 
less  fictitious  was  the  pernicious  effect  on  the  lodestone 
attributed  in  the  early  days  of  the  mariner's  compass  to 
onions  and  garlic ;  and  yet,  so  deeply  rooted  was  the  be- 
lief in  this  figment  that  sailors,  while  steering  by  the 
compass,  were  forbidden  the  use  of  these  vegetables 
lest  by  their  breath  they  might  intoxicate  the  *  *  index  of 
the  pole  "  and  turn  it  away  from  its  true  pointing. 
More  reasonable  than  this  prohibition  was  the  maritime 
legislation  of  certain  northern  countries  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  lodestone  on  shipboard.  According  to  this 
penal  code,  a  sailor  found  guilty  of  tampering  with  the 
lodestone  used  for  stroking  the  needles,  was  to  have 
the  guilty  hand  held  to  a  mast  of  the  ship  by  a  dagger 
thrust  through  it  until,  by  tearing  the  flesh  away,  he 
wrenched  himself  free. 

It  was  only  at  the  time  of  the  Crusades  that  people 
in  Europe  began  to  recognize  the  directive  property  of 
the  magnet,  in  virtue  of  which  a  freely  suspended  com- 
pass-needle takes  up  a  definite  position  relatively  to  the 
north-and-south  line,  property  which  is  serviceable  to 
the  traveler  on  land  and  supremely  useful  to  the  nav- 
igator on  sea. 

It  is  commonly  said  that  the  compass  wa?  introduced 
into  Europe  by  the  returning  Crusaders,  who  heard  of 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  7 

it  from  their  Mussulman  foes.  These,  in  turn,  derived 
their  knowledge  from  the  Chinese,  who  are  credited 
with  its  use  on  sea  as  far  back  as  the  third  century  of 
our  era.^ 

Among  the  earliest  references  to  the  sailing  compass 
is  that  of  the  trouvere  Guyot  de  Provins,^  who  wrote, 
about  the  year  1208,  a  satirical  poem  of  three  thousand 
lines,  in  which  the  following  passage  occurs  : 

The  mariners  employ  an  art  which  cannot  deceive. 

An  ugly  stone  and  brown. 

To  which  iron  joins  itself  willingly 

They  have ;  after  applying  a  needle  to  it, 

They  lay  the  latter  on  a  straw 

And  put  it  simply  in  the  water 

Where  the  straw  makes  it  float. 

Then  the  point  turns  direct 

To  the  star  with  such  certainty 

That  no  man  will  ever  doubt  it, 

Nor  will  it  ever  go  wrong. 

When  the  sea  is  dark  and  hazy, 

That  one  sees  neither  star  nor  moon, 

Then  they  put  a  light  by  the  needle 

And  have  no  fear  of  losing  their  way. 

The  point  turns  towards  the  star  ; 

And  the  mariners  are  taught 

To  follow  the  right  way. 

It  is  an  art  which  cannot  fail. 

The  author  was  a  caustic  and  fearless  critic,  who 
lashed  with  equal  freedom  the  clergy  and  laity,  nobles 
and  princes,  and  even  the  reigning  pontiff  himself,  all 
of  whom  should  be  for  their  subjects,  according  to  the 
satirist,  what  the  pole-star  is  for  mariners— a  beacon 
to  guide  them  over  the  stormy  sea  of  life. 

Guyot  traveled  extensively  in  his  early  years,  but 

1  See  Klaproth,  "Lettre  a  M.  le  Baron  A.  de  Humbolt  sur  I'lnvention  de  la 
Boussole,"  1834 ;  also  Encyc.  Brit.,  article  Compass. 

2  Provins,  town  57  miles  southeast  of  Paris. 


8  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

later  in  life  retired  from  a  world  which  he  despised,  and 
ended  his  days  in  the  peaceful  seclusion  of  the  Bene- 
dictine Abbey  of  Cluny. 

An  interesting  reference,  of  a  similar  nature  to  that 
of  the  minstrel  Guyot,  is  found  in  the  Spanish  code  of 
laws  known  as  Las  Siete  Partidas  of  Alfonso  el  Sabio, 
begun  in  1250  and  completed  in  1257.    It  says  : 

' '  And  even  as  mariners  guide  themselves  in  the  dark 
night  by  the  needle,  which  is  their  connecting  medium 
between  the  lodestone  and  the  star,  and  thus  shows 
them  where  they  go  alike  in  bad  seasons  as  in  good ;  so 
those  who  are  to  give  counsel  to  the  king  ought  always 
to  guide  themselves  by  justice,  which  is  the  connecting 
medium  between  God  and  the  world,  at  all  times  to  give 
their  guerdon  to  the  good  and  their  punishment  to  the 
wicked,  to  each  according  to  his  deserts.^ 

It  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  few  more  extracts  from 
writers  of  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth  century  in 
order  to  show  how  little  was  known  about  the  magnet 
and  how  crude  were  the  early  appliances  used  in 
navigation  when  Peregrinus  appeared  on  the  scene. 

Cardinal  Jacques  de  Vitry,  who  lived  in  the  East  for 
some  years,  wrote  his  "History  of  the  Orient"  between 
the  years  1215  and  1220,  in  which  he  says  : 

"  An  iron  needle  after  touching  the  lodestone,  turns 
towards  the  north  star,  so  that  such  a  needle  is  neces- 
sary for  those  who  navigate  the  seas." 

This  passage  of  the  celebrated  Cardinal  seems  to 
indicate  that  even  then  the  compass  was  widely  known 
and  commonly  used  in  navigation. 

Neckam  (1157-1217),  the  Augustinian  Abbot  of  Ciren-, 
cester,  wrote  in  his  "  Utensilibus  " : 

iSouthey,  "Omniana,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  213,  ed.  1812. 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  & 

"Among  the  stores  of  a  ship,  there  must.be  a  needle 
mounted  on  a  dart  which  will  oscillate  and  turn  until  the 
point  looks  to  the  north  ;  the  sailors  will  thus  know  how 
to  direct  their  course  when  the  pole-star  is  concealed 
through  the  troubled  state  of  the  atmosphere." 

This  passage  is  of  historical  value,  as  it  contains  what 
is  probably  the  earliest  known  reference  to  a  mounted 
or  pivoted  compass.  Prior  to  the  introduction  of  this 
mode  of  suspension,  the  needle  was  floated  on  a  straw, 
in  a  reed,  on  a  piece  of  cork  or  a  strip  of  wood,  all  of 
which  modes  of  flotation,  when  taken  in  conjunction 
with  the  unsteadiness  of  the  vessel  in  troubled  waters, 
must  have  made  observation  difficult  and  unsatisfactory. 

Brunetto  Latini  (1230-1294)  makes  a  passing  refer- 
ence to  the  new  magnetic  knowledge  in  his  "Livres 
douTresor,"  which  he  wrote  in  1260,  during  his  exile  in 
Paris. 

''The  sailors  navigate  the  seas,"  he  says,  "guided 
by  the  two  stars  called  tramontanes ;  and  each  of  the 
two  parts  of  the  lodestone  directs  the  end  of  the  needle 
that  has  touched  it  to  the  particular  star  to  which  that 
part  of  the  stone  itself  turns." 

Though  a  statesman,  orator  and  philosopher  of  ability, 
the  preceptor  of  Dante  in  Florence  and  guest  of  Friar 
Bacon  in  Oxford,  Brunetto  has  not  got  the  philosophy 
of  the  needle  quite  right  in  this  passage  ;  for  the  part 
that  has  been  touched  by  the  north  end  of  a  lodestone 
will  acquire  south  polarity  and  will  not,  therefore,  turn 
towards  the  same  "tramontane"  as  the  end  of  the  stone 
by  which  it  was  touched. 

Dante  himself  admitted  the  occult  influence  on  the 
compass-needle  that  emanates  from  the  pole-star  when, 
he  wrote : 


10  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

"Out  of  the  heart  of  one  of  the  new  lights 
There  came  a  voice  that,  needle  to  the  star, 
Made  me  appear  in  turning  thitherward. 

Paradise,  XIL,  28-30. 

The  next  writer  on  the  compass  is  Raymond  Lully 
(1236-1315),  who  was  noted  for  his  versatility,  volum- 
inous writings  and  extensive  travels  as  well  as  for  the 
zeal  which  he  displayed  in  converting  the  African 
Moors.  Lully  writes  in  his  "De  Contemplatione "  : 
* '  As  the  needle  after  touching  the  lodestone,  turns  to 
the  north,  so  the  mariners'  needle  directs  them  over  the 
sea." 

This  brings  us  to  the  last  of  our  ante-Peregrinian 
writers  who  make  definite  allusions  to  the  use  of  the 
compass  for  navigation  purposes,  viz.,  Roger  Bacon,  one 
of  the  glories  of  the  thirteenth  century  as  he  would  be 
of  the  twentieth.  It  was  at  the  request  of  his  patron, 
Pope  Clement  IV. ,  that  Bacon  wrote  his  "Opus  Majus, "  a 
work  in  which  he  treats  of  all  the  sciences  and  in  which 
he  advocates  the  experimental  method  as  the  right  one 
for  the  study  of  natural  phenomena  and  the  only  one 
that  will  serve  to  extend  the  boundaries  of  human  knowl- 
edge. In  a  section  on  the  magnet,  a  clear  distinction  is 
drawn  between  the  physical  properties  of  the  two  ends 
of  a  lodestone  ;  for  "  iron  which  has  been  touched  by  a 
lodestone,"  he  says,  " follows  the  end  by  which  it  has 
been  touched  and  turns  away  from  the  other. "  Besides 
being  a  recognition  of  magnetic  polarity,  this  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying  that  unlike  poles  attract  while  like  poles 
repel  each  other.  Bacon  further  remarks,  by  way  of 
corroboration,  thatif  a  strip  of  iron  be  floated  in  a  basin, 
the  end  that  was  touched  by  the  lodestone  will  follow 
the  stone,  while  the  other  end  will  flee  from  it  as  a  lamb 
from  the  wolf.    There  is,  however,  an  earlier  recogni- 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  11 

iion  known  of  the  polarity  of  the  lodestone ;  for  Abbot 
Neckam,  fifty  years  before,  called  attention  to  the  dual 
nature  of  the  physical  action  of  the  lodestone,  attracting 
in  one  part  (say)  by  sympathy  and  repelling  at  the  other 
by  antipathy.  It  was  the  common  belief  in  Bacon's 
time  and  for  centuries  after,  that  the  compass-needle 
was  directed  by  the  pole-star,  often  called  the  sailor's 
star ;  but  Bacon  himself  did  not  think  so,  preferring  to 
believe  with  Peregrinus,  that  it  was  controlled  not  by 
any  one  star  or  by  any  one  constellation,  but  by  the 
entire  celestial  sphere.  Other  contemporaries  of  his 
sought  the  cause  of  the  directive  property  not  in  the 
heavens  at  all,  but  in  the  earth  itself,  attributing  it  to 
hypothetical  mines  of  iron  which,  naturally  enough, 
they  located  in  regions  situated  near  the  pole.  Pere- 
grinus records  this  opinion,  which  he  criticises  and  re- 
jects, saying  in  Chapter  X.  that  persons  who  hold  such 
a  doctrine  '  *  are  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  in  many  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  globe  the  lodestone  is  found ;  from 
which  it  would  follow  that  the  needle  should  turn  in 
different  directions,  according  to  the  locality,  which  is 
contrary  to  experience."  A  little  further  on  he  gives 
his  own  view,  saying :  **  It  is  evident  from  the  foregoing 
chapters  that  we  must  conclude  that  not  only  from  the 
north  pole  (of  the  world),  but  also  from  the  south  pole 
rather  than  from  the  veins  of  mines,  virtue  flows  into 
the  poles  of  the  lodestone." 

Observations  had  to  accumulate  and  much  experimen- 
tation had  to  be  done  before  it  was  finally  established 
that  the  cause  of  the  directive  property  of  the  magnet 
is  not  to  be  sought  in  the  remote  star  depths  at  all,  but 
in  the  earth  itself,  the  whole  terrestrial  globe  acting  as 
a  colossal  magnet,  partly   in  virtue  of  magnetic  ore 


12  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

lying  near  the  surface  and  partly  also  in  virtue  oi  elec- 
trical currents,  due  to  solar  heat,  circulating  in  the  crust 
of  the  earth. 

Of  the  early  years  of  Pierre  le  Pelerin  (Petrus  Pere- 
grinus),  nothing  is  known  save  that  he  was  born  of 
wealthy  parents  in  Maricourt,  a  village  of  Picardy  in 
Northern  France.  From  his  academic  title  of  Magister, 
we  infer  that  he  received  the  best  instruction  available 
at  the  time,  probably  in  the  University  of  Paris,  which 
was  then  in  the  height  of  its  fame.  His  reputation  for 
mathematical  learning  and  mechanical  skill  crossed  the 
Channel  and  reached  Friar  Bacon  in  the  University  of 
Oxford.  In  his  "  Opus  Tertium,"  the  Franciscan  Friar 
records  the  esteem  in  which  he  held  his  Picard  friend, 
saying:  "I  know  of  only  one  person  who  deserves 
praise  for  his  work  in  experimental  philosophy,  because 
he  does  not  care  for  the  discourses  of  men  or  their 
wordy  warfare,  but  quietly  and  diligently  pursues  the 
works  of  wisdom.  Therefore  it  is  that  what  others 
grope  after  blindly,  as  bats  in  the  evening  twilight,  this 
man  contemplates  in  all  their  brilliancy  because  he  is 
master  of  experiment." 

Continuing  the  appraisal  of  his  Gallic  friend's  achieve- 
ments, he  says :  "He  knows  all  natural  sciences, 
whether  pertaining  to  medicine  and  alchemy  or  to  mat- 
ters celestial  and  terrestrial.  He  has  worked  diligently 
in  the  smelting  of  ores  and  also  in  the  working  of  min- 
erals ;  he  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  sorts  of  arms 
and  implements  used  in  military  service  and  in  hunting, 
besides  which  he  is  skilled  in  agriculture  and  also  in  the 
measurement  of  lands.  It  is  impossible  to  write  a  use- 
ful or  correct  treatise  on  experimental  philosophy  without 
mentioning  this  man's  name.     Moreover,  he  pursues- 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  13 

knowledge  for  its  own  sake  ;  for  if  he  wished  to  obtain 
royal  favor,  he  could  easily  find  sovereigns  to  honor  and 
enrich  him." 

This  is  at  once  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  work  and 
character  of  Peregrinus  and  an  emphatic  recognition  of 
the  paramount  importance  of  laboratory  methods  for  the 
advancement  of  learning.  It  is  evident  from  such  tes- 
timony, coming  as  it  does  from  an  eminent  member  of 
the  brotherhood  of  science,  that  the  world  had  not  to 
wait  for  the  advent  of  Chancellor  Bacon  or  f o!*  the  pub- 
lication of  his  Novum  Organum  in  1620,  to  learn  how  to 
undertake  and  carry  out  a  scientific  research  to-  a  reli- 
able issue.  Call  the  method  what  you  will,  inductive, 
deductive  or  both,  the  method  advocated  by  the  Fran- 
ciscan friar  of  the  thirteenth  century  was  the  one 
.followed  at  all  times  from  Archimedes  to  Peregrinus 
and  from  Peregrinus  to  Gilbert,  none  of  whom  knew 
anything  of  Lord  Bacon's  pompous  phrases  and  lofty 
commendation  of  the  inductive  method  of  inquiry  for 
the  advancement  of  physical  knowledge.  Be  it  said  in 
passing,  that  Bacon,  eminent  as  he  undoubtedly  was  in 
the  realm  of  the  higher  philosophy,  was,  nevertheless, 
neither  a  mathematician  nor  a  man  of  science ;  he  never 
put  to  a  practical  test  the  rules  which  he  laid  down  with 
such  certitude  and  expectancy  for  the  guidance  of  phys- 
ical inquiry.  Moreover,  there  is  not  a  single  discovery 
in  science  made  during  the  three  centuries  that  have 
elapsed  since  the  promulgation  of  the  Baconian  doctrine 
that  can  be  ascribed  to  it ;  it  has  been  steadily  ignored 
by  men  renowned  in  the  world  for  their  scientific 
achievements  and  has  been  absolutely  barren  of  results. 

Peregrinus,  on  the  other  hand,  does  not  stop  to  enum- 
erate opinions,  he  does  not  even  quote  Aristotle ;  but  he 


14  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

experiments,  observes,  reasons  and  draws  conclusions, 
which  he  puts  to  the  further  test  of  experiment  before 
finally  accepting  them.  Then  and  then  only  does  he. 
rise  from  the  order  of  the  physicist  to  that  of  the 
philosopher,  from  correlating  facts  and  phenomena  to 
the  discovery  of  the  laws  which  govern  them  and  the 
causes  that  produce  them.  Furthermore,  he  was  in  no 
hurry  to  let  the  world  know  that  he  was  grinding  lode- 
stones  one  day  and  pivoting  compass-needles  the  next ; 
what  he  fered  for  supremely  was  to  discover  facts,  new 
phenomena,  new  methods.  Peregrinus  was  not  an  es- 
sayist, nor  was  he  a  man  of  mere  book-learning.  He 
was  a  clear-headed  thinker,  a  close  and  resourceful 
worker,  a  man  who  preferred  facts  to  phrases  and  ob- 
servation to  speculation. 

At  one  period  of  his  life.  Master  Peter  applied  his  in- 
genuity to  the  solution  of  a  problem  in  practical  optics; 
involving  the  construction  of  a  burning-mirror  of  large 
dimensions  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  Archimedes  ; 
but  though  he  spent  three  years  on  the  enterprise  and  a 
correspondingly  large  sum  of  money,  we  are  not  told  by 
Friar  Bacon,  who  mentions  the  fact,  what  measure  of 
success  was  achieved.  Bacon,  however,  avails  himself 
of  the  occasion  to  insinuate  a  possible  cause  of  failure; 
for  he  says  that  nothing  is  difficult  of  accomplishment 
to  his  friend  unless  it  be  for  want  of  means. 

Centuries  later,  the  French  naturalist  Buffon  took  up 
the  same  optical  problem,  with  a  view  to  showing  that 
the  feat  attributed  to  Archimedes  during  the  siege  of 
Syracuse  by  the  Romans  was  not  impossible  of  accom- 
plishment. For  this  purpose,  he  used  168  small  mirrors 
in  the  construction  of  a  large  concave  reflector,  with 
which  he  ignited  wood  at  a  distance  of  150  feet  and 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  15 

succeeded  in  melting  lead  at  a  distance  of  140  feet.  As 
this  was  done  in  the  winter  time  in  Paris,  it  was  con- 
cluded that  it  would  have  been  quite  possible  to  set  a 
Roman  trireme  on  fire  from  a  safe  distance  by  the  con- 
centrated energy  of  a  Sicilian  sun. 

If  Peregrinus  was  alert  in  mind,  he  appears  to  have 
been  very  active  in  body.  Prompted,  no  doubt,  by  the 
higher  motives  of  Christian  faith  and  perhaps  a  little, 
too,  by  his  fondness  for  travel  and  adventure,  he  took 
the  cross  in  early  life  and  joined  one  of  the  crusading 
expeditions  of  the  time.  That  he  went  to  the  land  of 
the  paynim,  we  have  no  direct  evidence  ;  but  we  infer 
the  fact  from  the  title  of  Peregrinus  or  Pilgrim,  by 
which  he  is  known,  his  full  name  being  Pierre  le  Pelerin 
de  Maricourt,  or,  in  the  Latinized  form,  Petrus  Pere- 
grinus de  Maricourt. 

In  1269,  we  find  him  engaged  in  a  military  expedition 
undertaken  by  Charles  Duke  of  Anjou,  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  back  to  his  allegiance  as  King  of  the  Two 
Sicilies  the  revolted  city  of  Lucera  in  Southern  Italy. 
He  served  in  what  might  be  called  the  engineering 
corps  of  the  army,  and  was  engaged  in  fortifying  the 
camp  and  constructing  engines  of  defense  and  attack. 
UnUke  his  companions  in  arms,  Peregrinus  does  not 
allow  himself  to  be  wholly  absorbed  with  military  duties, 
nor  does  he  waste  his  leisure  hours  in  frivolous  amuse- 
ments ;  his  mind  is  on  higher  things ;  he  is  engrossed 
with  a  problem  in  practical  mechanics  which  required 
him  to  devise  a  piece  of  mechanism  that  would  keep  an 
armillary  sphere  in  motion  for  a  time. 

In  outlining  the  necessary  mechanism,  as  he  conceived 
it,  he  was  gradually  led  to  consider  the  general  and  more 
fascinating  problem  of  perpetual  motion  itself,  with  the 


16  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

result  that  he  waxed  somewhat  enthusiastic  when  he 
thought  that  he  saw  the  possibihty  of  constructing  an 
ever-turning  wheel  in  which  the  motive  power  would  be 
magnetic  attraction,  the  attraction  of  a  lodestone  for  a 
number  of  iron  teeth  arranged  at  equal  distances  on  the 
periphery  of  a  wheel.  The  device  looked  well  on  paper, 
beyond  which  stage  it  was  not  carried,  perhaps  for 
want  of  leisure,  or  more  probably  for  want  of  the  neces- 
sary material  and  tools.  Had  Peregrinus  been  able  to 
test  his  theoretical  views  on  the  magnetic  motor  by 
actual  experiment,  the  delusive  character  of  perpetual 
motion  would  have  been  recognized  at  an  early  epoch  in 
the  world's  history,  and  much  time  and  money  spared 
for  more  profitable  investment. 

This  very  wheel,  which  was  designed  in  the  trenches 
before  Lucera  in  1269,  was  probably  the  cause  of  the 
withering  rebuke  which  Justin  Huntly  McCarthy  ad- 
ministers in  his  "History  of  the  French  Revolution," 
Vol.  L,  p.  256,  where  he  says  :  **In  the  long  record  of 
rascaldom  from  Peregrinus  to  Bamfylde  Moore  Carew, 
no  single  rascal  stands  forward  with  such  magnificent 
effrontery,  such  majestic  impudence,  such  astonishing 
success  as  Caghostro."  To  say  the  least,  this  is  a  very 
serious  slip  of  the  pen  on  the  part  of  the  Irish  historian 
of  the  French  Revolution,  in  which  a  scientific  pioneer 
of  the  first  rank  and  a  patriot  of  exalted  type  is  mis- 
taken for  a  charlatan  of  the  deepest  dye. 

Although  Peregrinus  puts  the  burden  of  constructing 
his  wheel  on  others,  he  does  not  appear  to  have  consid- 
ered it  a  vain  conceit ;  for,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last 
chapter  of  the  "  Epistola "  he  says  :  "In  this  chapter, 
I  will  make  known  to  you  the  construction  of  a  wheel 
which,  in  a  remarkable  manner,  moves  continuously." 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  17 

He  is  writing  from  Southern  Italy  to  his  friend  Siger 
(Syger,  Sygerus),  at  home  in  Picardy;  and  that  this 
friend  may  the  better  comprehend  the  mechanism  of  the 
wheel,  he  proceeds  to  describe  in  a  systematic  manner  the 
various  properties  of  the  lodestone,  all  of  which  he  had 
investigated  and  many  of  which  he  had  discovered. 
The  "Epistola"  of  Peregrinus  is,  therefore,  the  first 
treatise  on  the  magnet  ever  written ;  it  stands  as  the 
first  great  landmark  in  magnetic  philosophy. 

The  work  is  divided  into  two  parts— the 
first  contains  ten  chapters  and  the  latter 
three.  "  At  your  request, "  he  says  to  his 
friend,  "I  will  make  known  to  you  in 
an  unpolished  narrative  the  undoubted 
though  hidden  virtue  of  the  lodestone, 
concerning  which  philosophers,  up  to  the 
Fig.  1         present  time,  give  us  no  information.  Out 

The  double  pivoted 

nee<M«  of  Petrus  of  aiieCtlOn  for  yOU,  I  will  write  m  sim- 
per egrmus,  A.  D.,  ./        7 

1269  pie  style  about  things  entirely  unknown 

to  the  ordinary  individual." 

After  this  declaration  as  to  the  original  character  of 
his  work  Peregrinus  proceeds :  ' '  You  must  know  that 
whoever  wishes  to  experiment  should  be  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  things ;  he  must  also  be  skilled  in 
manipulation,  in  order  that  by  means  of  this  stone,  he 
may  produce  those  marvelous  results." 

The  titles  of  the  chapters  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
comprehensive  character  of  the  magnetic  work  accom- 
plished by  the  author  and,  at  the  same  time,  will  serve 
to  show  how  much  was  known  about  the  lodestone  in 
the  thirteenth  century. 


18  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

PART  I. 
Chap.      I.     Purpose  of  this  work. 

II.     Qualifications  of  the  experimenter. 

III.  Characteristics  of  a  good  lodestone. 

IV.  How  to  distinguish  the  poles  of  a  lodestone. 

V.     How  to  tell  which  pole  is  north  and  which  south. 
VI.     How  one  lodestone  attracts  another. 
VII.     How  iron  touched  by  a  lodestone  turns  towards  the 

poles  of  the  world. 
VIII.     How  a  lodestone  attracts  iron. 
IX.     Why  the  north  pole  of  one  lodestone  attracts  the  south 
pole  of  another,  and  vice  versa. 
X.     An  inquiry  into  the  natural  virtue  of  the  lodestone. 

PART   II. 
Chap.      I.     Construction  of  an  instrument  for  measuring  the  azi- 
muth of  the  sun,  the  moon  or  any  star  when  in 
the  horizon. 
II.     Construction  of  a  better  instrument  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. 
III.     The  art  of  making  a  wheel  of  perpetual  motion. 

An  attentive  reading  of  the  thirteen  chapters  of  this 
treatise  of  3,500  words  will  show  that : 

(1)  Peregrinus  assigns  a  definite  position  to  what  he 
calls  the  poles  of  a  lodestone  and  gives  practical  direc- 
tions for  determining  which  is  north  and  which  south. 

(2)  He  establishes  the  two  fundamental  laws  of  mag- 
netism, that  like  poles  repel  and  unlike  poles  attract 
each  other. 

(3)  He  demonstrates  by  experiment  that  every  frag- 
ment of  a  lodestone  is  a  complete  magnet,  and  shows 
how  the  fragments  should  be  put  together  in  order  to 
reproduce  the  polarity  of  the  unbroken  stone. 

(4)  He  shows  how  a  pole  of  a  lodestone  may  neutral- 
ize a  weaker  one  of  the  same  name  and  even  reverse 
its  polarity. 

(5)  He  pivots  a  magnetized  needle  and  surrounds 
it  with  a  circle  divided  into  360  degrees. 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  19 

This  brief  summary  shows  the  great  advance  made 
by  the  author  on  what  was  known  about  the  lodestone 
before  his  time.  Most  of  the  sahent  facts  in  magnetism 
are  clearly  described  and  some  of  their  applications 
pointed  out.  So  thorough  and  complete  was  this  appre- 
hension and  explanation  of  magnetic  phenomena  that 
nothing  of  importance  was  added  to  it  for  the  next 
three  hundred  years. 


Fig.  2 
First  pivoted  compass,  Peregrinus,  1269 

In  the  compass  which  Peregrinus  devised  for  use  in 
navigation,  a  light  magnetic  needle  was  thrust  through 
a  slender  vertical  axis  made  of  wood,  which  axis  also 
carried  a  pointer  of  brass  or  silver  at  right  angles  to 
the  needle.  According  to  the  belief  of  the  time,  the 
magnetic  needle  gave  the  north  and  south  points  of  the 
horizon,  while  the  brass  pointer  determined  the  east  and 
west  points.  This  compass,  double  pivoted  be  it  no- 
ticed, was  provided  with  a  graduated  circle  and  a 
movable  arm,  having  a  pair  of  upright  pins  at  its 
extremities,  which  movable  arm  enabled  the  navigator 
to  determine  the  magnetic  bearing  of  the  sun,  moon  or 
any  star  at  the  time  of  rising  or  setting.  "By  means 
of  this  instrument,"  the  author  says  in  Chap,  II.,  "you 
can  direct  your  course  towards  cities  and  islands  and 
any  other  place  wherever  you  may  wish  to  go,  by  land 
or  by  sea,  provided  you  know  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  the  place  which  you  want  to  reach." 


20  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

The  invention  of  the  compass  has  been  attributed  to 
one  Flavio  Gioja,  a  seafaring  man  of  Amalfi,  a  flourish- 
ing maritime  town  in  Southern  Italy.  If  we  admit  that 
Gioja  was  a  real  and  not  a  fictitious  person,  we  cannot, 
however,  admit  the  claim  which  is  made  by  his  country- 
men, when  they  say  that  he  gave  to  the  mariner  the 
use  of  the  compass  in  the  year  1302  ;  for  we  have  seen 
that  Peregrinus  distinctly  states  that  his  compass,  de- 
scribed in  1269,  could  be  relied  upon  for  guidance  by  the 
traveler  on  land  as  well  as  by  the  voyager  on  sea. 

To  Gioja  may  belong  the  merit  of  having  simplified  and 
improved  the  compass.  It  is  likely  that  he  suspended 
the  needle  on  one  pivot  instead  of  the  two  used  by 
Peregrinus,  and  that  he  added  the  compass-card  with 
its  thirty-two  divisions,  attaching  it  to  the  needle  itself, 
thereby  adding  materially  to  the  practical  character  of 
the  compass  as  a  nautical  instrument. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  claim  has  been  made  for  Pere- 
grinus which  cannot  be  admitted.  It  was  put  forward 
by  his  itinerant  countryman  Thevenot,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  to  the  effect  that  the  author  of  the 
"Epistola"  was  acquainted  with  magnetic  declination, 
in  virtue  of  which  a  freely  suspended  magnet  does  not 
point  north  and  south,  but  cuts  the  geographical  me- 
ridian at  a  definite  angle. 

Writing  in  1681,  Thevenot  says  in  his  "Recueil  de 
Voyages"  that:  "It  was  a  matter  of  general  belief 
down  to  the  present  day,  that  the  declination  of  the 
magnetic  needle  was  first  observed  sometime  in  the 
beginning  of  the  last  (16th)  century.  I  have  found, 
however,  that  there  was  a  declination  of  five  degrees  in 
the  year  1269,  having  found  it  recorded  in  a  manuscript 
with  the  title  "Epistola  Petri  Adsigerii,"  etc. 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS 


21 


The  title  of  the  manuscript  seen  by  Thevenot  is  not, 
however,  as  he  gives  it  above,  but  ''Epistola  Petri  ad 
Sygerium, "  etc. ,  which  is  quite  a  different  reading. 

There  are  twenty-eight  manuscript  copies  of  the 
*'  Epistola  "  known  to  exist ;  and  only  one  of  them,  that 
of  the  University  of  Leyden,  contains  the  passage  allud- 
ed to  by  Thevenot.  This  manuscript  was  the  object  of 
careful  study  and  critical  examination  by  Wenckebach 
(1865)  and  other  competent  scholars,  who  pronounced 
it  a  spurious  addition  made  some  time  in  the  early  part 
of  the  16th  century.^ 

In  the  time  of  Peregrinus,  it  is  probable  that  the  dec- 
lination did  not  exceed  three  degrees  in  Paris  or  on  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  a  quantity  so  small  that  it 
would  have  been  difficult  of  detection ;  and,  if  detected, 
would  have  been  attributed  either  to  errors  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  instrument  used  or  to  inaccuracy  on  the 
part  of  the  observer.  This  is  what  happened  to  Colum- 
bus when,  on  his  return  to  Spain,  having  reported  the 
many  and  definite  observations  on  the  variation  of  the 

compass  which  he  had  made  on 
his  outward  voyage,  he  was  told 
by  the  learned  ones  of  the  day 
that  he  was  in  error  and  not  the 
needle,  because  the  latter  was 
everywhere  true  to  the  pole. 

This  oft-stated  and  widely- 
believed  fidehty  of  the  needle  to 
the  pole  is  not,  however,  founded 
on  fact ;  it  is  the  exception,  the 
rare  exception,  not  the  rule, 
despite  the  couplet  of  the  poet : 


JUaglielic     dpclniflticn 


Uajnetii"  (iedinahon 
al  Sanfn 

-1907 


Fig.  3 


1  Annali  di  Matematica  pura  ed  applicata.    Rome,  1865. 


THE  CATHZR  NE  B.  O'CONNOR  LIBRARY 

ViESTDN  03S-RVAT0RY 

WESTON,  MASSACHUSETTS    02193 


22  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Th'  obedient  steel  with  living  instinct  moves 
And  veers  for  ever  to  the  pole  it  loves  ; 

or  this  other, 

So  turns  the  faithful  needle  to  the  pole, 
Though  mountains  rise  between  and  oceans  roll. 

That  the  magnet  does  not  turn  to  the  pole  of  the 
world  is  common  knowledge  to-day,  when  the  High 
School  tyro  will  tell  you  that  in  New  York  it  points  9° 
west  of  north,  while  in  San  Francisco  it  points  15°  east 
of  north.  If  he  happens  to  be  well  up,  he  may  refer 
to  the  position  of  the  agonic  line  on  the  globe  along 
which  the  needle  stands  true  to  the  pole,  while  all 
places  to  the  east  of  that  line  in  our  hemisphere  have 
westerly  declination  and  those  to  the  west  have  easterly 
declination.  Indeed,  magnetic  charts  show  places 
where  the  needle  points  east  and  west  instead  of  north 
and  south,  and  others  where  the  north-seeking  end 
points  directly  south.  Such  varying  and  conflicting 
behavior  of  the  compass-needle  serves  to  show  the  ir- 
regular manner  in  which  the  earth's  magnetism  is  dis- 
tributed and  also  the  intensity  of  distributing  forces 
which  exist  at  certain  places. 

It  is  one  of  the  gems  in  the  crown  of  Columbus,  that 
he  observed,  measured  and  recorded  this  strange  be- 
havior of  the  magnetic  needle  in  his  narrative  of  the 
voyage.  True,  he  did  not  notice  it  until  he  was  far  out 
on  the  trackless  ocean.  A  week  had  elapsed  since  he 
left  the  lordly  Teneriffe,  and  a  few  days  since  the 
mountainous  outline  of  Gomera  had  disappeared  from 
sight.  The  memorable  night  was  that  of  September  13th, 
1492.  There  was  no  mistaking  it ;  the  needle  of  the 
Santa  Maria  pointed  a  little  west  of  north  instead  of  due 
north.     Some  days  later,  on  September  17th,  the  pilots. 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS 


23 


having  taken  the  sun's  amplitude,  reported  that  the 
variation  had  reached  a  whole  point  of  the  compass,  the 
alarming  amount  of  11  degrees. 

The  surprise  and  anxiety 
which  Columbus  manifested  on 
those  occasions  may  be  taken  as 
indications  that  the  phenomenon 
was  new  to  him.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  his  needles 
were  not  true  even  at  the  out- 
set of  the  voyage  from  the  port 
of  Palos,  where,  though  no  one 
was  aware  of  it,  they  pointed 
about  3°  east  of  north.  This 
|n^neiKD«imai.on\Lonao«J58o.d.!5fl7 angle  diminished  from  day  to 
Fig.  4  day  as  the  Admiral  kept  the 

prow  of  his  caravel  directed  to  the  west,  until  it  van- 
ished altogether,  after  which  the  needles  veered  to  -the 
west,  and  kept  moving  westward  for  a  time  as  the  flag- 
ship proceeded  on  her  voyage. 

Columbus  thus  determined  a  place  on  the  Atlantic 
in  which  the  magnetic  meridian  coincided  with  the 
geographical  and  in  which  the  needle  stood  true  to  the 
pole.  Six  years  later,  in  1498,  Sebastian  Cabot  found 
another  place  on  the  same  ocean,  a  little  further  north, 
in  which  the  compass  lay  exactly  in  the  north-and- 
south  line.  These  two  observations,  one  by  Columbus 
and  the  other  by  Cabot,  sufficed  to  determine  the  posi- 
tion of  the  agonic  line,  or  line  of  no  variation,  for  that 
locality  and  epoch. 

The  Columbian  line  acquired  at  once  considerable  im- 
portance, in  the  geographical  and  the  political  world, 
because  of  the  proposal  that  was  made  to  discard  the 


24  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Island  of  Ferro  and  take  it  for  the  prime  meridian  from 
which  longitude  would  be  reckoned  east  and  west,  and 
also  because  it  was  selected  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  to 
serve  as  a  line  of  reference  in  settling  the  rival  claims 
of  the  kingdoms  of  Portugal  and  Castile  with  regard  to 
their  respective  discoveries.  It  was  decided  that  all  re- 
cently discovered  lands  lying  to  the  east  of  that  line 
should  belong  to  Portugal ;  and  those  to  the  west,  to 
Castile. 

The  line  of  no  variation,  like  all  other  isomagnetic 
lines,  has  shifted  its  position  with  time,  so  that  it  runs 
to-day  considerably  to  the  west  of  the  place  assigned  to 
it  by  Columbus  in  1492  and  by  the  Papal  Bull  of  the 
following  year. 

Columbus  did  not  speak  of  the  disquieting  observa- 
tion which  he  made  on  the  night  of  the  13th  of  Septem- 
ber ;  he  thought  of  it,  and  wondered  greatly  what  might 
be  the  cause  of  such  an  unexpected  and  untoward  phe- 
nomenon. His  silence  on  the  matter  did  not  avail,  for 
the  keen-eyed  sailors  noticed  the  westerly  deflection  of 
the  needle  when,  after  a  few  days,  it  became  quite 
apparent.  They  grew  alarmed,  believing  that  the  laws 
of  nature  were  changing  as  they  advanced  farther  and 
farther  into  the  unknown.  It  was  a  trying  moment  for 
the  Admiral,  but  his  ingenuity  and  tactfulness  rose  to 
the  occasion.  He  told  his  seamen  that  the  needle  did 
not  point  to  the  cynosure  or  last  star  in  the  tail  of  the 
Little  Bear,  as  commonly  supposed,  but  to  a  fixed  point 
in  the  celestial  sphere  at  which  there  was  no  star,  add- 
ing that  the  "cynosure"  itself,  the  Polaris  of  our  days, 
was  not  stationary,  but  had  a  rotational  movement  of  its, 
own  like  all  other  heavenly  bodies. 

We  do  not  know  what  Columbus  thought  of  his  explan- 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  25^ 

ation,  born  of  the  stress  of  the  moment,  but  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  pilots  and  sailors  alike  for  his 
knowledge  of  astronomy  and  cosmography  led  them  to 
accept  it.  Their  fears  were  allayed,  a  mutiny  was 
averted  and  a  successful  termination  to  their  voyage 
rendered  possible. 

Captains  of  ocean-liners  would  give  to-day  a  different 
answer  to  a  passenger  who  might  consult  them  about 
the  splinter  of  steel  which  serves  to  guide  their  fleet 
vessels  in  darkest  nights,  through  howling  tempests  and 
over  billowy  seas.  The  mysterious  influence  that  con- 
trols it,  they  would  say,  comes  neither  from  Polaris  nor 
the  pole  of  the  world,  nor  from  the  heavens  above,  but 
from  the  earth  beneath. 

Such  an  explanation  was  not  thought  of  until  it  was< 
clearly  shown  a  hundred  years  later  that  this  globe  of 
ours  acts  like  a  colossal  lodestone,  controlling  every  mag- 
net in  our  laboratories  and  observatories,  and  every 
needle  on  board  the  merchantmen  and  fighting-monsters 
that  plough  our  seas  and  oceans. 

Without  any  intuition  of  modern  theory,  Columbus- 
made  two  discoveries  in  terrestrial  magnetism,  as  we 
have  seen,  each  of  fundamental  importance,  whether 
considered  from  the  view-point  of  pure  science  or  that 
of  practical  navigation,  viz.,  (a)  that  the  needle  is  not 
true  to  the  pole  and  (b)  that  the  angular  displacement 
of  the  needle  from  true  orientation,  the  variation  of  the 
compass,  as  it  is  called  in  nautical  parlance,  differs  with 
the  place  of  the  observer.  These  two  discoveries  as  well 
as  the  location  of  a  place  of  no  variation  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  entitle  Columbus  to  a  prominent  place  among  the 
founders  of  the  science  of  terrestrial  magnetism. 

Later  observers  discovered  that  even  for  a  given  place 


26  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

this  element  of  magnetic  declination  has  not  a  constant 
value,  but  undergoes  changes  which  complete  their 
cycle,  some  in  a  day,  others  in  a  year,  and  others  again 
in  centuries.  The  last  or  secular  change  in  the  direction 
of  the  magnetic  needle  was  discovered  by  Gellibrand,  of 
London,  in  1634  (pubhshed  in  1635)  ;  the  annual,  by 
Cassini,  at  Paris,  1782-1791 ;  and  the  diurnal,  by  Gra- 
ham, of  London,  in  1722. 

The  first  observation  of  magnetic  declination  on  land 
appears  to  have  been  made  about  the  year  1510  by 
George  Hartmann  (1489-1564),  Vicar  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Sebald  in  Nuremberg,  who  found  it  to  be  6°  east  in 
Rome,  where  he  was  Hving  at  the  time.  Hartmann's 
observation  of  the  declination  in  Rome  and  also  in 
Nuremberg,  where  the  needle  pointed  10°  east  of  north, 
will  be  found  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  in  1544  to  Duke 
Albert  of  Prussia  and  which  remained  unpublished  until 
the  year  1831. 

Returning  to  the  treatise  of  Peregrinus  on  the  magnet, 
it  should  be  said  that  for  several  centuries  the  twenty- 
eight  manuscript  copies  lay  undisturbed  on  the  dusty 
shelves  of  city  and  university  libraries.  In  1562,  four 
years  after  the  appearance  of  the  first  printed  edition 
(Augsburg,  1558),  Taisnier,  a  Belgian  writer  on  mag- 
netics, who  is  also  described  as  poet-laureate  and  Doctor 
"  utriusque  juris, "  was  among  the  earliest  to  discover 
the  "Epistola,"  from  which  he  copied  extensively  in  his 
little  quarto  on  the  magnet  and  its  effects,  thus  showing 
that  there  were  literary  pirates  in  those  days.  It  was 
also  well  known  to  Gilbert,  to  Cabeo  and  Kircher  ;  but 
despite  the  references  of  these  writers,  the  "Epistola" 
remained  practically  unknown  until  Cavallo,  of  London, 
called  attention  to  the  Leyden  manuscript  in  the  third 


PEREGRINUS  AND  COLUMBUS  27 

edition  of  his  ''Treatise  on  Magnetism,"^  1800,  by  giv- 
ing part  of  the  text  and  accompanying  it  with  a 
translation. 

Later,  in  1838,  Libri,  historian  of  the  mathematical 
sciences  in  Italy,  gave  excerpts  from  the  Paris  codex 
with  translation ;  but  the  scholar  who  contributed  most 
of  all  to  make  the  work  of  Peregrinus  known  is  the 
Italian  Barnabite,  Timoteo  Bertelli,  who  published  in 
1868  a  critical  study  of  the  various  manuscripts  of  the 
letter,  principally  those  which  he  found  in  Rome  and  in 
Florence,  adding  copious  notes  of  historic,  bibliographic 
and  scientific  value.  Father  Bertelli  was  Professor  of 
Physics  in  the  Collegio  della  Querela,  in  Florence,  where 
he  took  an  active  interest  in  Italian  seismology  besides 
carrying  on  investigations  in  meteorology,  telegraphy 
and  electricity.  Born  in  Bologna  in  1826,  he  died  in 
Florence  in  March,  1905. 

The  following  list  of  manuscript  copies  of  the  "  Epis- 
tola"  is  taken  from  a  scholarly  paper  by  Professor 
Silvanus  P.  Thompson,  of  London,  which  appeared  in 
the  "Proceedings  of  the  British  Academy  "  for  1906  :— 

The  Bodleian  Library seven 

Vatican four 

British.  Museum one 

Bibliotheque  Nationale,  Paris two 

Biblioteca  Riccardiana,  Florence one 

Trinity  College,  Dublin one 

Conville  and  Caius,  Cambridge one 

The  University  of  Leyden one 

Geneva one 

Turin one 

Erfurt three 

Vienna three 

S.  P.  Thompson two 

1  Also  in  Rees  Encyclopedia,  article  Compass. 


28  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

The  first  printed  edition  of  the  "Epistola  "  was  pre- 
pared for  the  press  in  1558  by  Achilles  Gasser,  a  man 
well  versed  in  the  science  and  philosophy  of  his  day ; 
another  edition,  which  will  probably  be  considered  the 
textus  receptus,  is  that  which  was  prepared  and  pub- 
lished by  Bertelh  in  1868. 

No  complete  translation  in  any  language  of  this  his- 
torical work  on  magnetism  was  made  until  1902,  when 
Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thompson,  of  London,  published  his 
' '  Epistle  of  Peter  Peregrinus  of  Maricourt  to  Sygerus 
of  Foncaucourt,  soldier,  concerning  the  Magnet. "  Un- 
fortunately, this  translation  was  printed  for  private 
circulation  and  limited  to  250  copies.  Two  years  later, 
1904,  Brother  Arnold,  F.  S.  C,  presented  a  memoir  on 
Peregrinus,  including  a  translation  of  the  **Epistola," 
for  the  M.  Sc.  degree  of  Manhattan  College,  New  York 
City,  which  translation  was  published  some  months  later 
by  the  McGraw  Publishing  Company,  New  York.  These 
are  the  only  complete  translations  of  the  ** Letter"  of 
Peregrinus  on  the  Magnet  which  have  yet  appeared. 

Brother  Potamian. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT 


29 


CHAPTER  II. 

Norman  and  Gilbert. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  thirteenth  century  the 
directive  property  of  the  lodestone  was  recognized  by 
Peregrinus  and  used  by  him  in  his  pivoted  compass ; 
and  that  in  the  fifteenth,  Columbus  discovered  magnetic 
declination  on  sea  as  well  as  its  variation  with  place. 

The  next  cardinal  fact  in  terrestrial  magnetism,  mag- 
netic dip,  was  discovered  in  1576  by  Robert  Norman,  a 
icompass-maker  of  Limehouse,  London.  Norman  pos- 
sessed many  of  the  fine  qualities  of  mind,  hand  and 
disposition  that  are  indispensable  in  the  make-up  of  the 
original  investigator.  In  pivoting  his  compass-needles, 
he  soon  noticed  that,  however  care- 
fully they  were  balanced  before  being 
magnetized,  they  did  not  remain  hori- 
zontal after  magnetization,  the  north- 
seeking  end  always  going  down 
through  a  small  angle.  He  next  had 
the  happy  idea  of  swinging  a  needle  on 
a  horizontal  axis,  so  that  it  might  be 
free  to  move  up  and  down  in  a  verti- 
cal plane,  with  the  result  that  the 
north-seeking  end  again  went  down 
through  a  constant  but  much  greater 
Fig.  5.  .  angle. 
iirent^byNoSnini576     Like  decHnation,  the  first  discovered 


30  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

of  the  three  magnetic  elements,  the  dip  was  found  to 
vary  with  place  on  the  earth's  surface,  being  0°  at  the 
magnetic  equator  and  90°  at  either  pole.  It  was  with  a 
Norman  dip-circle,  greatly  improved,  that  Ross  in  1831 
found  the  north  magnetic  pole  of  the  earth  to  be  in  Boothia 
Fehx  in  latitude  70°  5'.  3  N.,  and  longitude  96°  45'.  8  W. ; 
and  it  was  with  a  similar  instrument  that  Amundsen 
recently  studied  the  magnetic  conditions  of  that  Arctic 
region,  the  exact  location  of  the  pole  itself  being  finally 
determined  by  an  earth-inductor  or  spinning  coil  of  the 
latest  make.  Though  the  results  of  his  observations 
have  not  yet  been  made  public,  it  is  generally  known 
that  they  indicate  a  spot  for  the  magnetic  pole  close  to 
that  found  by  Sir  James  Ross.  It  is  not  expected,  how-' 
ever,  that  the  location  of  the  pole  by  the  Norwegian 
Commander  shall  exactly  coincide  with  that  of  the 
English  Captain,  because  the  magnetic  pole  is  believed 
to  have  nomadic  tendencies  of  its  own  like  our  geo- 
graphical pole,  only  much  more  pronounced  in  magni- 
tude. After  moving  westward  for  some  time  at  the 
rate  of  a  mile  per  year,  it  retraced  its  steps  and  is  now 
back  again  in  the  vicinity  of  its  starting  place. 

Besides  his  dip-circle,  Norman  also  devised  a  simple 
and  very  apt  illustration  of  magnetic  inclination.  Thrust- 
ing a  steel  needle  through  a  round  piece  of  cork,  he 
pared  the  latter  down  until  the  system,  consisting  of 
the  needle  and  the  cork,  sank  to  a  certain  depth  in  a 
glass  vessel  containing  water,  and  there  took  up  a  hor- 
izontal position.  The  needle  was  next  removed  from 
the  water  and  magnetized  with  great  care,  so  as  not  to 
disturb  its  position  in  the  cork.  When  placed  again  in 
the  water,  the  needle  sank  to  its  former  depth  and' 
settled  down  at  an  angle  of  71°  to  the  horizon. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  31 

The  same  illustration  shows  another  experiment 
which  Norman  made  in  order  to  determine  whether 
the  earth  exerts  a  force  of  translation  on  a  magnet,  in 
virtue  of  which  the  magnet  would  tend  to  move  bodily 
toward  the  pole.  For  this  purpose,  he  floated  a  mag- 
netized piece  of  steel  wire  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
and  noticed  that,  wherever  placed, 
it  merely  swung  round  into  the 
magnetic  meridian  without  show- 
ing any  tendency  to  move  north- 
ward or  southward  toward  the 
rim  of  the  vessel.  Hartmann,  who 
observed  the  declination  of  the 
needle  on  land  as  stated  on  p.  26, 
appears  also  to  have  been  the  first  %M 

to  notice  magnetic  inclination.  Hav- 
ing balanced  a  steel  needle  with 
great  precision,  he  found  that,  af-  ^''»    »    »  '^^    ^^ 
ter  magnetization,  it  did  not  remain  fig.  e 

Norman's  illustration  of 

horizontal,  the  north-seekmg  end  magnetic  dip 

invariably  dipping  through  an  angle  of  9°.  The  small- 
ness  of  the  angle  in  this  experiment  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  needle  used  by  the  Nuremberg  Vicar  could  move 
only  in  a  horizontal  plane,  whereas  Norman's  was  free 
to  move  in  a  vertical  circle.  Had  Hartmann  used  such  a 
device,  he  would  have  obtained  more  than  60°  for  the  dip 
instead  of  the  9°  which  he  records. 

As  already  remarked,  the  letter  in  which  Hartmann 
consigns  these  capital  observations  was  written  in  1544, 
but  was  not  published  until  the  third  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  so  that  Norman  has  clearly  the  full 
merit  of  independent  discovery. 

In  the  directions  which  Norman  gives  for  making 


32 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


observations  of  dip,  he  states  explicitly  that  the  instru- 
ment must  be  adjusted  "duley  according  to  the  varia- 
tion of  the  place,"  which  means  that  the  plane  of  the 
circle  must  be  turned  into  what  was  called  after  his 
time  "the  magnetic  meridian." 

The  discovery  of  magnetic  dip  led  Norman  to  discard 
the  view  generally  held  in  his  time,  which  placed  the 
controlling  influence  of  the  compass-needle  in  far-off 
celestial  space;  for  he  says  that  the  poynt  respective 
which  the  magnet  indicates,  but  to  which  it  is  not  bodily 
drawn,  is  not  in  the  heavens  above,  but  in  the  earth 
itself.  His  words  are  :  ' '  And  by  the  declining  of  the 
needle  is  also  proved  that  the  poynt  respective  is  rather 
in  the  earth  than  in  the  heavens,  as  some  have  im- 
agined ;  and  the  greatest  reason  why  they  so  thought, 
as  I  judge,  was  because  they  were  never  acquainted 
with  this  declining  in  the  needle." 

Here  we  have  a  radical  departure  from  the  scientific 
creed  of  the  time,  a  notable  advance  in  scientific  theory, 
an  entirely  new  philosophy  founded  by  Norman,  the 
compass-maker,    and   greatly    developed    twenty-four 

years  later  by  his  fel- 
low-citizen, Gilbert,  the 
physician. 
Norman  made  another 
remark  of  great  impor- 
tance in  the  new  phil- 
osophy, the  justness  of 
which  was  appreciated 
by  Gilbert,  his  contem- 
porary, but  more  so  by 
Faraday  and  Clerk 
Gilbert's  orb  of  virtue,  iQoo  Maxwell,  two   centur- 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  33 

ies  later.  It  refers  to  the  space  surrounding  a  magnet, 
natural  or  artificial,  which  cubical  space  Gilbert,  follow- 
ing Norman,  called  an  orb  of  virtue.  That  the  influence 
or  " effluvium"  of  the  magnet  extends  throughout  the 
entire  space  may  readily  be  seen  by  carrying  a  compass- 
needle  round  a  magnet  from  point  to  point,  far  away 
as  well  as  close  by.  The  phrase  "orb  of  virtue,"  or 
sphere  of  magnetic  influence,  appears  to  describe  the 
actual  magnetic  condition  of  the  space  in  question  more 
pertinently  than  our  modem  equivalent  of  "magnetic 
field." 

The  words  of  Norman  are  very  remarkable:  "I  am 
of  opinion  that  if  this  vertue  could  by  anie  means  be 
made  visible  to  the  eie  of  man,  it  would  be  found  in  a 
sphericall  forme,  extending  round  about  the  stone  in 
great  compasse  and  the  dead  bodie  of  the  stone  in  the 
middle  thereof . "  The  lines  which  immediately  follow 
this  statement,  pregnant  with  significance,  show  the 
deep  religious  feeling  of  the  author.  They  read :  "and 
this  I  have  partly  proved  and  made  visible  to  be  seene 
in  some  manner,  and  God  sparing  mee  life,  I  will  herein 
make  further  experience  and  that  not  curiouslie  but  in 
the  f eare  of  God  as  neere  as  He  shall  give  me  grace  and 
meane  to  annexe  the  same  unto  a  booke  of  navigation 
which  I  have  had  long  in  hand."— Chap.  VIII. 

It  is  evident  from  the  pages  of  the  Newe  Attractive 
(1581)  that  Norman  was  animated  with  the  right  spirit 
of  inquiry,  which  is  calm,  deliberate  and  judicious, 
which  leads  to  the  discovery  of  facts,  to  their  coordina- 
tion and  experimental  illustration  before  explanations 
are  thought  of  and  long  before  new  theories  are  pro- 
pounded. The  style  in  which  this  little  treatise  is 
written  has  a  charm  of  its  own,  mainly  by  reason  of  its 


34  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

quaintness.  At  the  end  of  his  address  to  the  candid 
reader,  which,  after  the  manner  of  the  times,  was 
somewhat  belabored  and  rhetorical  in  character,  Nor- 
man breaks  away  from  common  inadequate  prose ;  and, 
^ving  wings  to  his  imagination,  writes  a  lyric  on  the 
magnet  which  is  the  first  metrical  composition  in  Eng- 
lish that  we  have  on  such  a  subject.    It  reads  :— 

THE  MAGNES  OR  LOADSTONE'S  CHALLENGE. 

Give  place  ye  glittering  sparks, 
ye  glimmering  Diamonds  bright, 

Ye  Rubies  red,  and  Saphires  brave 
wherein  ye  most  delight. 

In  breefe,  yee  stones  inricht, 

and  burnisht  all  with  golde, 
Set  forth  in  Lapidaries  shops, 

for  Jewells  to  be  sold. 

^  Give  place,  give  place  I  say, 

your  beau  tie,  gleame  and  glee. 
Is  all  the  vertue  for  the  which, 
accepted  so  you  bee. 

Magnes,  the  Loadstone  I, 

your  painted  sheath  defie. 
Without  my  help  in  Indian  seas, 

the  best  of  you  might  lie. 

I  guide  the  Pilot's  course, 

his  helping  hand  I  am, 
The  Mariner  delights  in  me, 

so  doth  the  Marchant  man. 

My  vertue  lies  unknowne, 

my  secrets  hidden  are, 
By  me,  the  Court  and  Commonweale, 

are  pleasured  very  farre. 

No  ship  could  sail  on  Seas, 

her  course  to  run  aright, 
Nor  Compass  shew  the  ready  way 

were  Magnes  not  of  might. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  35 

Blush,  then,  and  blemish  all, 

bequeath  to  mee  thats  due, 
Your  seats  in  golde,  your  price  in  plate, 

which  Jewellers  do  renue. 

Its  I,  its  I  alone, 

whom  you  usurp  upon, 
Magnes  my  name,  the  L,oadstone  cal'd, 

the  prince  of  stones  alone. 

If  this  you  can  deny, 

then  seem  to  make  reply, 
And  let  the  painfull  sea-man  judge, 

the  which  of  us  doth  lie. 

The;  Mariner's  Judgement. 

The  lyoadstone  is  the  stone, 

the  onely  stone  alone, 
Deserving  praise  above  the  rest 

whose  vertues  are  unknown. 

The  Marchant's  Verdict. 

The  Diamonds  bright,  the  Saphires  brave, 

Are  stones  that  bear  the  name, 
but  flatter  not,  and  tell  the  troath, 

Magnes  deserves  the  same. 
(Edition  of  1720.) 

Norman's  Newe  Attractive  was  well  known  to  Gilbert, 
as  were  also  the  Epistola  of  Peregrinus,  the  Magiae 
Naturalis  of  Porta,  and  indeed  all  books  treating  of  the 
lodestone,  the  magnet,  or  the  compass-needle.  His 
own  work  De  Magnete,  published  in  the  year  1600,  is  a 
compendium  of  the  world's  knowledge  of  magnetism 
and  electricity  at  the  time.  In  its  pages,  he  not  only 
discusses  the  opinions  of  others,  but  describes  discov- 
eries of  his  own  made  during  the  twenty  years  which 
he  ardently  devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  experimental 
science,  crowning  his  investigations  with  theories  in 
electricity  and  magnetism  as  became  a  true  philosopher. 


36  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Impressed  by  the  originality  of  Gilbert's  treatise,  the 
practical  ingenuity  and  philosophic  acumen  displayed 
throughout,  Hallam  wrote  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
Literature  of  Europe :  ' '  Gilbert  not  only  collected  all 
the  knowledge  which  others  had  possessed  on  the  sub- 
ject, but  became  at  once  the  father  of  experimental 
philosophy  in  this  island  ;  and,  by  a  singular  felicity  and 
acuteness  of  genius,  the  founder  of  theories  which  have 
been  received  after  the  lapse  of  ages  and  are  almost 
universally  received  into  the  creed  of  science." 

At  a  period  when  natural  science  was  taught  in  the 
schools  of  Europe  mainly  from  text-books,  we  find 
Gilbert  proclaiming  by  example  and  advocacy  the  para- 
mount value  of  experiment  for  the  advancement  of 
learning.  He  was  unsparing  in  his  denunciation  of  the 
superficiality  and  verbosity  of  mere  bookmen,  and  had 
no  patience  with  writers  who  treated  their  subjects 
" esoterically,  reconditely  and  mystically."  For  him, 
the  laboratory  method  was  the  only  one  that  could 
secure  fruitful  results  and  contribute  effectively  to" 
the  advancement  learning. 

It  is  true  that  men  of  unusual  ability  and  strong 
character  strove  before  his  time  to  adjust  the  claims  of 
authority  in  matters  scientific.  While  respectful  of  the 
teachings  of  recognized  leaders,  they  were  not,  however, 
awed  into  acquiescence  by  an  academical  "magister 
dixit. "  On  the  contrary,  they  wanted  to  test  with  their 
eyes  in  order  to  judge  with  reason ;  believing  in  the 
importance  of  experiment,  they  sought  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  nature  from  nature  herself. 

Such  were  Albert  the  Great  and  Friar  Bacon.  Albert 
did  not  bow  obsequiously  to  the  authority  of  Aristotle 
or  any  of  his  Arabian  commentators ;  he  investigated 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  87 

for  himself  and  became,  for  his  age,  a  distinguished 
botanist,  physiologist  and  mineralogist. 

The  Franciscan  monk  of  Ilchester  has  left  us  in  his 
Opus  Majus  a  lasting  memorial  of  his  practical  genius. 
In  the  section  entitled  ''Scientia  Experimentahs, "  he 
affirms  that  "Without  experiment,  nothing  can  be 
adequately  known.  An  argument  proves  theoretically, 
but  does  not  give  the  certitude  necessary  to  remove  all 
doubt,  nor  will  the  mind  repose  in  the  clear  view  of 
truth,  unless  it  find  it  by  way  of  experiment."  And  in 
his  Opits  Tertium :  ' '  The  strongest  arguments  prove 
nothing,  so  long  as  the  conclusions  are  not  verified  by 
experience.  Experimental  science  is  the  queen  of  sci- 
ences and  the  goal  of  all  speculation." 

No  one,  even  in  our  own  times,  wrote  more  strongly 
in  favor  of  the  practical  method  than  did  this  follower 
of  St.  Francis  in  the  thirteenth  century.  Being  con- 
vinced that  there  can  be  no  conflict  between  scientific 
and  revealed  truths,  he  became  an  irrepressible  advo- 
cate for  observation  and  experiment  in  the  study  of  the 
phenomena  and  forces  of  nature. 

The  example  of  Peregrinus,  of  Albert  and  Friar 
Bacon,  not  to  mention  others  like  Vincent  of  Beauvais, 
the  Dominican  encyclopedist,  was,  however,  not  suffi- 
cient to  wean  students  from  the  easy-going  routine  of 
book-learning.  A  few  centuries  had  to  elapse  before 
the  weaning  was  effectively  begun ;  and  the  man  Vv^ho 
contributed  in  a  marked  degree  to  this  result  was  Gil- 
bert the  Philosopher  of  Colchester  (1544-1603). 

Having  received  the  elements  of  his  education  in  the 
Grammar  School  of  Colchester,  his  native  town,  Gilbert 
entered  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  from  which 
university  he  took  his  B.  A.  degree  in  1560,  M.  A .  in 


38  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

1564  and  M.  D.  in  1569.  In  all,  he  appears  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  University  for  a  period  of 
eleven  or  twelve  years,  as  student.  Fellow,  and  exam- 
iner. 

On  leaving  Cambridge,  Gilbert  traveled  for  four  years 
on  the  Continent,  principally  in  Italy,  visiting  medical 
schools  and  studying  methods  of  treatment  under  the 
leading  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  day  as  well  as 
discussing  scientific  theory  with  the  leaders  of  thought. 
On  his  return  to  England  in  1573,  he  practised  medi- 
cine in  London  "with  great  applause  and  success." 
He  was  elected  President  of  the  Royal  College  of  Phy- 
sicians in  1599,  and  appointed  Physician  to  Queen  Eliza- 
beth in  1601  and  to  her  successor,  James  I,,  in  1603. 

On  one  occasion,  he  hears  that  Baptista  Porta,  whom 
he  calls  "a  philosopher  of  no  ordinary  note,"  said  that 
a  piece  of  iron  rubbed  with  a  diamond  turns  to  the 
north.  He  suspects  this  to  be  heresy.  So,  forthwith 
he  proceeds  to  test  the  statement  by  experiment.  He 
was  not  dazzled  by  the  reputation  of  Baptista  Porta ;  he 
respected  Porta,  but  respected  truth  even  more.  He 
tells  us  that  he  experimented  with  seventy  diamonds  in 
presence  of  many  witnesses,  employing  a  number  of 
iron  bars  and  pieces  of  wire,  manipulating  them  with 
the  greatest  care  while  they  floated  on  corks  ;  and  con- 
cludes his  long  and  exhaustive  research  by  plaintively 
saying :  "Yet  never  was  it  granted  me  to  see  the  effect 
mentioned  by  Porta." 

Though  it  led  to  a  negative  result,  this  probing  in- 
quiry was  a  masterpiece  of  experimental  work. 

Gilbert  incidentally  regrets  that  the  men  of  his  time 
"are  deplorably  ignorant  with  respect  to  natural 
things,"  and  the  only  way  he  sees  to  remedy  this  is  to 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  39 

make  them  "quit  the  sort  of  learning  that  comes  only 
from  books  and  that  rests  only  on  vain  arguments  and 
conjectures,"  for  he  shrewdly  remarks  that  ** even  men 
of  acute  intelligence  without  actual  knowledge  of  facts 
and  in  the  absence  of  experiment  easily  fall  into  error." 

Acting  on  this  intimate  conviction,  he  labored  for 
twenty  years  over  the  theories  and  experiments  which 
he  sets  forth  in  his  great  work  on  the  magnet.  "There 
is  naught  in  these  books,"  he  tells  us,  "that  has  not 
been  investigated,  and  again  and  again  done  and  re- 
peated under  our  eyes."  He  begs  any  one  that  should 
feel  disposed  to  challenge  his  results  to  repeat  the 
experiments  for  himself  "carefully,  skilfully  and  deftly, 
but  not  heedlessly  and  bunglingly." 

It  has  been  said  that  we  are  indebted  to  Sir  Francis 
Bacon,  Queen  Elizabeth's  Chancellor,  for  the  inductive 
method  of  studying  the  phenomena  of  nature.  Bacon's 
merit  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  not  only  minutely  analyzed 
the  method,  pointing  out  its  uses  and  abuses,  but  also 
that  he  showed  it  to  be  the  only  one  by  which  we  can 
attain  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  physical  world 
around  us.  His  sententious  eulogy  went  forth  to  the 
world  of  scholars  invested  with  all  the  importance, 
authority  and  dignity  which  the  high  position  and 
worldwide  fame  of  the  philosophic  Chancellor  could  give 
it.  But  while  Bacon  thought  and  wrote  in  his  study, 
Gilbert  labored  and  toiled  in  his  workshop.  By  his  pen, 
Bacon  made  a  profound  impression  on  the  philosophic 
mind  of  his  age ;  by  his  researches,  Gilbert  explored 
two  provinces  of  nature  and  added  them  to  the  domain 
of  science.  Bacon  was  a  theorist,  Gilbert  an  investi- 
gator. For  twenty  years  he  shunned  the  glare  of 
society  and  the  throbbing  excitement  of  public  life ;  he 


40  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

wrenched  himself  away  from  all  but  the  strictest  ex- 
igencies of  his  profession,  in  order  to  devote  himself 
undistractedly  to  the  pursuit  of  science.  And  all  this 
forty  years  before  the  appearance  of  Bacon's  Novum 
Organum,  the  very  work  which  contains  the  philoso- 
pher's "large  thoughts  and  lofty  phrases  "  on  the  value 
of  experiment  as  a  means  for  the  advancement  of 
learning.  During  that  long  period  Gilbert  haunted  Col- 
chester, where  he  delved  into  the  secrets  of  nature  and 
prepared  the  materials  for  his  great  work  on  the  mag- 
net. The  publication  of  this  Latin  treatise  made  him 
known  in  the  universities  at  home  and  especially  abroad : 
he  was  appreciated  by  all  the  great  physicists  and 
mathematicians  of  his  age  ;  by  such  men  as  Sir  Kenelm 
Digby;  by  William  Barlowe,  a  great  "magneticall" 
man ;  by  Kepler,  the  astronomer,  who  adopted  and  de- 
fended his  views;  by  Galileo  himself,  who  said:  *'I 
extremely  admire  and  envy  the  author  of  De  Magnete.'* 

The  science  of  magnetism  owes  more  to  Gilbert  than 
to  any  other  man,  Peregrinus  (1269)  excepted.  He 
repeated  for  himself  the  numerous  and  ingenious  ex- 
periments of  the  medieval  philosopher,  and  added  much 
of  his  own  which  he  discovered  during  the  long  period 
of  a  life  devoted  to  the  diligent  exploration  of  this 
domain  in  the  world  of  natural  knowledge. 

The  ancients  spoke  of  the  lodestone  as  the  Magnesian 
stone,  from  its  being  found  in  abundance  in  the  vicinity 
of  Magnesia,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor.  In  his  Latin  treatise 
of  254  (small)  folio  pages,  Gilbert  uses  the  adjective 
form  of  the  term,  but  never  the  noun  "  Magnetismus  " 
itself.  Our  English  term  magnetism  appears  for  the, 
first  time  on  page  2  of  Archdeacon  Barlowe 's  "Magnet- 
icall  Advertisements,"   published   in  1616;  while   the 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  41 

surprising  compound,  "  electro-magnetismos, "  is  the 
title  of  a  chapter  in  Father  Kircher's  "Magnes,  sive  de 
Arte  Magnetica,"  printed  in  the  year  1641. 

Gilbert  showed  that  a  great  number  of  bodies  could 
be  electrified ;  but  maintained  that  those  only  could  ex- 
hibit magnetic  properties  which  contain  iron.  He  sat- 
isfies himself  of  this  by  rubbing  with  a  lodestone  such 
substances  as  wood,  gold,  silver,  copper,  zinc,  lead, 
glass,  etc.,  and  then  floating  them  on  corks,  quaintly 
adding  that  they  show  "no  poles,  because  the  energy 
of  the  lodestone  has  no  entrance  into  their  interior." 

To-day  we  know  that  nickel  and  cobalt  behave  like 
iron,  whilst  antimony,  bismuth,  copper,  silver  and  gold 
are  susceptible  of  being  influenced  by  powerful  electro- 
magnets, showing  what  has  been  termed  diamagnetic 
phenomena.  Even  liquids  and  gases,  in  Faraday's 
classical  experiments,  yielded  to  the  influence  of  his 
great  magnet ;  and  Professor  Dewar,  in  the  same  Royal 
Institution,  exposed  some  of  his  liquid  air  and  liquid 
oxygen  to  the  influence  of  Faraday's  electromagnet  and 
found  them  to  be  strongly  attracted,  thus  behaving  like 
the  paramagnetic  bodies,  iron,  nickel  and  cobalt. 

Gilbert  observes  in  all  his  magnets  two  points,  one 
near  each  end,  in  which  the  force,  or,  as  he  terms  it, 
"the  supreme  attractional  power,"  is  concentrated. 
Like  Peregrinus,  he  calls  these  points  the  poles  of  the 
magnet,  and  the  line  joining  them  its  magnetic  axis. 
With  the  aid  of  his  steel  versorium,  he  recognizes  that 
similar  poles  are  mutually  hostile,  whilst  opposite  poles 
seize  and  hold  each  other  in  friendly  embrace.  He  also 
satisfies  himself  that  the  energy  of  magnets  resides  not 
only  in  their  extremities,  but  that  it  permeates  "their 
inmost  parts,  being  entire  in  the  whole  and  entire  in 


42  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

«ach  part."  This  is  exactly  what  Peregrinus  said  in 
1269  and  what  we  say  to-day ;  it  is  nothing  else  than 
the  molecular  theory  proposed  by  Weber,  extended 
by  Ewing  and  universally  accepted. 

At  any  rate,  Gilbert  is  quite  certain  that  whatever 
magnetism  may  be,  it  is  not,  like  electricity,  a  material, 
ponderable  substance.  He  ascertained  this  by  weigh- 
ing in  the  most  accurate  scales  of  a  goldsmith  a  rod  of 
iron  before  and  after  it  had  been  rubbed  with  the  lode- 
stone,  and  then  observing  that  the  weight  is  precisely 
the  same  in  both  cases,  being  ' '  neither  less  nor  more. ' ' 

Without  referring  to  the  prior  discovery  of  Norman, 
whom  he  calls  "a  skilled  navigator  and  ingenious  artif- 
icer," Gilbert  satisfies  himself  that  not  only  the  mag- 
net, but  all  the  space  surrounding  it,  possesses  magnetic 
properties;  for  the  magnet  "sends  its  force  abroad 
in  all  directions,  according  to  its  energy  and  quality." 
This  region  of  influence  Norman  called  a  sphere  of 
"vertue,"  and  Gilbert  an  ''orbis  virtutis,"  which  is  the 
Latin  equivalent ;  we  call  it  a  "magnetic  field,"  or  field 
of  force,  which  is  less  expressive  and  less  appropriate. 
With  wonderful  intuition,  Gilbert  sees  this  space  filled 
with  lines  of  magnetic  virtue  passing  out  radially  from 
his  spherical  lodestone,  which  lines  he  calls  "rays  of 
magnetic  force." 

Clerk  Maxwell  was  so  fascinated  with  this  beautiful 
concept  that  he  made  it  the  work  of  his  life  to  study 
the  field  of  force  due  to  electrified  bodies,  to  magnets 
and  to  conductors  conveying  currents ;  his  powerful  in-, 
tellect  visualized  those  lines  and  gave  them  accurate 
mathematical  expression  in  the  great  treatise  on  elec- 
tricity and  magnetism  which  he  gave  to  the  world  in 
1873. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  43 

Gilbert  observes  that  the  lodestone  may  be  spherical 
or  oblong ;  "whatever  the  shape,  imperfect  or  irregular, 
'verticity  is  present ; there  are  poles,"  and  the lodestones 
"have  the  selfsame  way  of  turning  to  the  poles  of  the 
world."  He  knows  that  a  compass-needle  is  not  drawn 
bodily  towards  the  pole,  and  does  not  hesitate  in  this 
instance  to  give  credit  to  his  countryman,  Robert  Nor- 
man, for  having  clearly  stated  this  fact  and  aptly  de- 
monstrated it.  Following  Norman,  he  floats  a  needle 
in  a  vessel  by  means  of  a  piece  of  cork,  and  notices  that 
on  whatever  part  of  the  surface  of  the  water  it  may 
be  placed,  the  needle  settles  down  after  a  few  swings 
invariably  in  the  same  direction.  His  words  are:  "It 
revolves  on  its  iron  center  and  is  not  borne  towards 
the  rim  of  the  vessel. " 

Gilbert  knew  nothing  about  the  mechanical  couple 
that  came  into  play,  but  he  knew  the  fact ;  and,  with 
the  instinct  of  the  philosopher,  tested  it  in  a  variety  of 
ways. 

We  explain  the  orientation  of  the  compass-needle  by 
saying  that  it  is  acted  upon  by  a  pair  of  equal  and  op- 
l)Osite  forces  due  to  the  influence  of  the  terrestrial  mag- 
netic poles  on  each  end  of  the  needle  and  by  showing 
that  such  a  couple  can  produce  rotation,  but  not  trans- 
lation. 

We  find  Gilbert  working  not  only  with  steel  needles 
and  iron  bars,  but  also  with  rings  of  iron.  He  strokes 
them  with  a  natural  magnet  and  feels  certain  that  he 
Tias  magnetized  them.  He  assures  us  that  "one  of  the 
poles  will  be  at  the  point  rubbed  and  the  other  will  be 
at  the  opposite  side."  To  show  that  the  ring  is  really 
magnetized,  he  cuts  it  across,  opens  it  out,  and  finds 
that  the  ends  exhibit  polar  properties. 


44 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


A  favorite  piece  of  apparatus  with  Gilbert,  as  with 
Peregrinus,  was  a  lodestone  ground  down  into  globular 
form.  He  called  it  a  terrella,  a  miniature  earth,  and 
used  it  extensively  for  reproducing  the  phenomena  de- 
scribed by  magnetizers,  trav- 
elers and  navigators.  He 
breaks  up  terrellas,  in  order 
to  examine  the  magnetic 
condition  of  their  inner  parts. 
There  is  not  a  doubtful  ut- 
terance in  his  description  of 
what  he  finds ;  he  speaks 
clearly  and  emphatically. 
"  If  magnetic  bodies  be 
divided,  or  in  any  way  broken 
up,  each  several  part  hath  a 
north  and  a  south  end  " ;  i.  e. , 
each  part  will  be  a  complete 
magnet. 
We  find  him  also  comparing  magnets  by  what  is 
known  to  us  as  the  ''magnetometer  method."  He 
brings  the  magnetized  bars  in  turn  near  a  compass- 
needle  and  concludes  that  the  magnet  or  the  lodestone 
which  is  able  to  make  the  needle  go  round  is  the  best 
and  strongest.  He  also  seeks  to  compare  magnets  by  a 
process  of  weighing,  similar  to  what  is  called,  in  labor- 
atory parlance,  the  "test-nail"  method.  He  also  in- 
quires into  the  effect  of  heat  upon  his  magnets,  and 
finds  that  'a  lodestone  subjected  to  any  great  heat  loses 
some  of  its  energy.'  He  applies  a  red-hot  iron  to  a 
compass-needle  and  notices  that  it  'stands  still,  not 
turning  to  the  iron.'  He  thrusts  a  magnetized  bar  into 
the  fire  until  it  is  red-hot  and  shows  that  it  has  lost  all 


Fig.  8 

Behavior  of  compass- needle  on  a  terrella 

or  spherical  lodestone 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  45 

magnetic  power.  He  does  not  stop  at  this  remarkable 
discovery,  for  he  proceeds  to  let  his  red-hot  bars  cool 
while  lying  in  various  positions,  and  finds  :  (1)  that  the 
bar  will  acquire  magnetic  properties  if  it  lie  in  the 
magnetic  meridian ;  and  (2)  that  it  will  acquire  none  if 
it  lie  east  and  west.  These  effects  he  rightly  attributes 
to  the  inductive  action  of  the  earth. 

Gilbert  marks  these  and  other  experiments  with 
marginal  asterisks ;  small  stars  denoting  minor  and  large 
ones  important  discoveries  of  his.  There  are  in  all  21 
large  and  178  small  asterisks,  as  well  as  84  illustrations 
in  De  Magnete.  This  implies  a  vast  amount  of  original 
work,  and  forms  no  small  contribution  to  the  founda- 
tions of  electric  and  magnetic  science. 

Gilbert  clearly  realized  the  phenomena  and  laws  of 
[magnetic  induction.  He  tells  us  that  * '  as  soon  as  a  bar 
of  iron  comes  within  the  lodestone's  sphere  of  influence, 
though  it  be  at  some  distance  from  the  lodestone  itself, 
the  iron  changes  instantly  and  has  its  form  renewed ;  it 
was  before  dormant  and  inert ;  but  now  is  quick  and 
active."  He  hangs  a  nail  from  a  lodestone;  a  second 
nail  from  the  first,  a  third  from  the  second  and  so  on — 
a  well-known  experiment,  made  every  day  for  elemen- 
tary classes.  Nor  is  this  all,  for  he  interposes  between 
the  lodestone  and  his  iron  nail,  thick  boards,  walls  of 
pottery  and  marble,  and  even  metals,  and  he  finds  that 
there  is  naught  so  solid  as  to  do  away  with  its  force  or 
to  check  it,  save  a  plate  of  iron.  All  that  can  be  added 
to  this  pregnant  observation  is  that  the  plate  of  iron 
must  be  very  thick  in  order  to  carry  all  the  lines  of 
force  due  to  the  magnet,  and  thus  completely  screen 
the  space  beyond. 

But  Gilbert  is  astonishing  when  he  goes  on  to  make 


46  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

thick  boxes  of  gold,  glass  and  marble ;  and,  suspending 
his  needle  within  them,  declares  with  excusable  enthu- 
siasm that,  regardless  of  the  box  which  imprisons  the 
magnet,  it  turns  to  its  predestined  points  of  north  and 
south.  He  even  constructs  a  box  of  iron,  places  hi& 
magnet  within,  observes  its  behavior,  and  concludes 
that  it  turns  north  and  south,  and  would  do  so  were 
"it  shut  up  in  iron  vaults  sufficiently  roomy."  In  this, 
he  was  in  error,  for  experiments  show  that  if  the  sides 
of  the  box  are  thin,  the  needle  will  experience  the 
directive  force  of  the  earth ;  but  if  they  are  sufficiently 
thick— thick  as  the  walls  of  an  ordinary  safe— the  in- 
side of  such  a  box  will  be  completely  screened  ;  none  of 
the  earth's  magnetic  lines  will  get  into  it  so  that  the 
needle  will  remain  indifferently  in  any  position  in  which 
it  is  placed.  Some  years  ago,  the  physical  laboratory 
of  St.  John's  College,  Oxford,  was  screened  from  the 
obtrusive  lines  of  neighboring  dynamos  by  building  two 
brick  walls  parallel  to  each  other  and  eight  inches  apart 
and  filling  in  the  space  with  scrap  iron.  A  delicate 
magnetometer  showed  that  such  a  structure  allowed  no 
leakage  of  lines  of  force  through  it,  but  offered  an  im- 
penetrable barrier  to  the  magnetic  influence  of  the  work- 
ing dynamos. 

Gilbert's  greatest  discovery  is  that  the  earth  itself 
acts  as  a  vast  globular  magnet  having  its  magnetic 
poles,  axis  and  equator.  The  pole  which  is  in  our  hemi- 
sphere, he  variously  calls  north,  boreal  or  arctic.  Whilst 
that  in  the  other  hemisphere  he  calls  south,  austral  or 
antarctic.  He  sought  to  explain  the  magnetic  condition 
of  our  globe  by  the  presence,  especially  in  its  innermost 
parts,  of  what  he  calls  true,  terrene  matter,  homogen- 
eous in  structure  and  endowed  with  magnetic  properties, 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  4T 

SO  that  every  separate  fragment  exhibits  the  whole  force 
of  magnetic  matter.  He  is  quite  aware  that  his  theory- 
is  a  grand  generahzation  ;  and  admits  that  it  is  "a  new 
and  till  now  unheard-of  view,"  and  so  confident  is  he  in 
its  worth  that  he  is  not  afraid  to  say  that  "it  will  stand 
as  firm  as  aught  that  ever  was  produced  in  philosophy, 
backed  by  ingenious  argumentation  or  buttressed  by 
mathematical  demonstration." 

In  developing  his  theory  of  terrestrial  magnetism, 
Gilbert  fell  into  certain  errors,  chiefly  for  want  of  data,, 
but  partly  also  by  reason  of  his  adherence  to  the  view 
that  the  earth  exactly  resembled  his  terrella  in  its  mag- 
netic action.  Accordingly,  he  believed  that  the  mag- 
netic poles  of  the  earth  were  diametrically  opposite  each 
other  and  that  they  coincided  with  the  poles  of  rotation, 
whence  it  followed  that  the  magnetic  meridian  every- 
where coincided  with  the  geographical,  and  that  the 
magnet,  unless  influenced  by  local  disturbances,  stood 
true  to  the  pole. 

It  was,  however,  well  known  from  the  thrilling  ex- 
perience of  Columbus  and  the  constant  report  of  trav- 
elers that  this  was  not  the  case.  Gilbert  himself  says 
that  at  the  time  of  writing,  in  the  year  1600,  the  needle 
pointed  lli°  east  of  north  in  London ;  but  what  he  did 
not  know  and  could  not  have  known  was  that  this  east- 
erly deviation  was  decreasing  from  year  to  year,  to  van- 
ish altogether  in  1657,  after  which  the  needle  began  to 
decline  to  the  west. 

This  magnetic  declination  sorely  perplexed  Gilbert,  as 
it  did  not  fit  in  with  his  theory.  Yet  an  explanation 
was  needed  ;  and  as  the  earth  must  be  considered  a  nor- 
mal and  well-behaved  magnet,  though  of  cosmical  size,, 
Gilbert  turns  the  difficulty  by  saying  that  this  variation' 


48  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

is  nothing  else  than  "a  sort  of  perturbation  of  the 
directive  force"  caused  by  inequaHties  in  the  earth's 
surface  by  continents  and  mountain  masses  :  "  Since  the 
earth's  surface  is  diversified  by  elevations  of  land  and 
depths  of  seas,  great  continental  lands,  oceans  and  seas 
differing  in  every  way  while  the  power  that  produces 
all  magnetic  movements  comes  from  the  constant  mag- 
netic earth-substance  which  is  strongest  in  the  most 
massive  continent  and  not  where  the  surface  is  water 
or  fluid  or  unsettled,  it  follows  that  toward  a  massive 
body  of  land  or  continent  rising  to  some  height  in  any 
meridian,  there  is  a  measurable  magnetic  leaning  from 
the  true  pole  toward  the  east  or  the  west." 

So  convinced  is  Gilbert  of  the  true  and  satisfactory 
character  of  his  explanation  that  he  goes  on  to  say  that, 
* '  In  northern  regions,  the  compass  varies  because  of  the 
northern  eminences ;  in  southern  regions,  because  of 
southern  eminences.  On  the  equator,  if  the  eminences 
on  both  sides  were  equal,  there  would  be  no  variation." 
In  a  later  chapter  of  Book  IV.,  he  adds  that,  **in  the 
heart  of  great  continents  there  is  no  variation ;  so,  too, 
in  the  midst  of  great  seas." 

As  continents  and  mountain-chains  are  among  the 
permanent  features  of  our  planet,  Gilbert  concluded 
that  the  misdirection  of  the  needle  was  likewise  per- 
manent or  constant  at  any  given  place,  a  conclusion 
which  observations  made  after  Gilbert's  time  showed  to 
be  incorrect.  Gilbert  writes :  "  As  the  needle  hath  ever 
inclined  toward  the  east  or  toward  the  west,  so  even 
now  does  the  arc  of  variation  continue  to  be  the  same 
in  whatever  place  or  region,  be  it  sea  or  continent ;  so, 
too,  will  it  be  forever  unchanging." 

This  we  know  to  be  untrue,  and  Gilbert,  too,  could 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  49 

have  known  as  much  had  he  brought  the  experimental 
method,  which  he  used  with  such  consummate  skill  and 
fruitful  results  in  other  departments  of  his  favorite 
studies,  to  bear  on  this  particular  element  of  terrestrial 
magnetism.  He  labored  with  incredible  ardor  and  per- 
sistence for  twenty  years  in  his  workshops  at  Colchester 
over  the  experiments  in  electricity,  magnetism  and  ter- 
restrial magnetism  which  he  embodies  and  discusses  in 
his  original  and  epoch-making  book,  De  Magnete,  pub- 
lished in  the  year  1600 ;  a  period  of  twenty  years  was 
long  enough  for  such  a  careful  observer  as  he  was  to  de- 
tect the  slow  change  in  magnetic  declination  discovered 
by  his  friend  Gellibrand  in  1634,  published  by  him  in  1635, 
and  known  to-day  as  the  "secular  variation."  It  is 
true  the  quantity  to  be  measured  was  small ;  but  what 
is  surprising  is  that  such  an  industrious  and  resourceful 
experimenter  as  Gilbert  was  does  not  record  in  his  pages 
any  observations  of  his  own  on  declination  or  dip,  ele- 
ments of  primary  importance  in  magnetic  theory. 

Shortly  after  the  voyage  of  Columbus  it  was  thought 
that  the  longitude  of  a  place  could  be  found  from  its 
magnetic  declination.  Gilbert,  however,  did  not  think 
so,  and  accordingly  scores  those  who  championed  that 
view.  "Porta,"  he  says,  "is  deluded  by  a  vain  hope 
and  a  baseless  theory";  Livius  Sanutus  "sorely  tor- 
tures himself  and  his  readers  with  like  vanities";  and 
even  the  researches  of  Stevin,  the  great  Flemish  mathe- 
matician, on  the  cause  of  variation  in  the  southern 
regions  of  the  earth  are  "utterly  vain  and  absurd." 

With  regard  to  dip,  Gilbert  erroneously  held  that  for 
any  given  latitude  it  had  a  constant  value.  He  was  so 
charmed  with  this  constancy  that  he  proposed  it  as  a 
means  of  determining  latitude.    There  is  no  diffidence 


50  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

in  his  mind  about  the  matter ;  he  is  sure  that  with  his 
"  inclinatorium  "  or  dip-circle,  together  with  accompany- 
ing tables,  calculated  for  him  by  Briggs,  of  logarithmic 
fame,  an  observer  can  find  his  latitude  "in  any  part  of 
the  world  without  the  aid  of  the  sun,  planets  or  fixed 
stars  in  foggy  weather  as  well  as  in  darkness." 

After  such  a  statement,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  waxes 
warm  over  the  capabilities  of  his  instrument  and  allows 
himself  to  exclaim :  ''We  can  see  how  far  from  idle  is 
magnetic  philosophy ;  on  the  contrary,  how  delightful  it 
is,  how  beneficial,  how  divine !  Seamen  tossed  by  the 
waves  and  vexed  with  incessant  storms  while  they  can- 
not learn  even  from  the  heavenly  luminaries  aught  as 
to  where  on  earth  they  are,  may  with  the  greatest  ease 
gain  comfort  from  an  insignificant  instrument  and 
ascertain  the  latitude  of  the  place  where  they  happen 
to  be." 

Gilbert  dwells  at  length  on  the  inductive  action  of  the 
earth.  He  hammers  heated  bars  of  iron  on  his  anvil 
and  then  allows  them  to  cool  while  lying  in  the 
magnetic  meridian.  He  notes  that  they  become  mag- 
netized, and  does  not  fail  to  point  out  the  polarity  of 
each  end.  He  likewise  attributes  to  the  influence  of 
the  earth  the  magnetic  condition  acquired  by  iron  bars 
that  have  for  a  long  time  lain  fixed  in  the  north-and- 
south  position  and  ingenuously  adds  :  ''for  great  is  the 
effect  of  long-continued  direction  of  a  body  towards  the 
poles."  To  the  same  cause, 'he  attributes  the  magnet- 
ization of  iron  crosses  attached  to  steeples,  towers,  etc. , 
and  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  foot  of  the  cross 
always  acquires  north-seeking  polarity. 

In  a  similar  manner,  every  vertical  piece  of  iron,  like 
railings,  lamp-posts,  and  fire-irons,  becomes  a  magnet 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  51 

under  the  inductive  action  of  the  earth.  In  the  case  of 
our  modern  ships,  the  magnetization  of  every  plate  and 
vertical  post,  intensified  by  the  hammering  during  con- 
struction, converts  the  whole  vessel  into  a  magnetic 
magazine,  the  resulting  complex  "field"  rendering  the 
adjustment  of  the  compasses  somewhat  difficult  and 
unreliable.  The  unreliable  character  of  the  adjustment 
arises  mainly  from  the  changing  magnetism  of  the  shipi 
with  change  of  place  in  the  earth's  magnetic  field,  the 
effect  increasing  slightly  from  the  magnetic  equator  to 
the  poles. 

With  luminous  insight  into  the  phenomena  of  terres- 
trial magnetism,  Gilbert  observes  that  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  poles,  a  compass-needle,  tending  as  it  does 
to  dip  greatly,  must  in  consequence  experience  only  a 
feeble  directive  power.  To  which  he  adds  that  "at  the 
poles  there  is  no  direction,"  meaning,  no  doubt,  that  a 
compass-needle  would  remain  in  any  horizontal  position 
in  which  it  might  be  placed  when  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
magnetic  pole. 

This  is  precisely  the  experience  of  all  Arctic  explorers, 
who  find  that  their  compasses  become  less  and  less  ac- 
tive as  they  sail  northward,  the  reason  being  that  the 
horizontal  component  of  the  earth's  magnetic  force, 
which  alone  controls  the  movements  of  the  compass- 
needle,  decreases  as  the  ship  advances  and  vanishes 
altogether  at  the  magnetic  pole.  When  once  a  high 
latitude  is  reached,  captains  do  not  depend  upon  their 
compasses  for  their  bearings,  but  have  recourse  to  as- 
tronomical observations.  In  his  account  of  magnetic 
work  carried  on  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  magnetic 
pole,  Amundsen  says  :  "At  Prescott  Island  the  com- 
pass, which  for  some  time  had  been  somewhat  sluggish, 


52  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

refused  entirely  to  act,  and  we  could  as  well  have  used 
a  stick  to  steer  by." 

As  a  physician,  Gilbert  valued  iron  for  its  medicinal 
properties,  but  denounced  quacks  and  wandering 
mountebanks  who  practised  "the  vilest  imposture  for 
lucre's  sake,"  using  powdered  lodestone  for  the  cure  of 
wounds  and  disorders.  "Headaches,"  he  said,  "are 
no  more  cured  by  application  of  a  lodestone  than  by 
putting  on  an  iron  helmet  or  a  steel  hat ";  and  again  : 
"To  give  it  in  a  draught  to  dropsical  persons  is  either 
an  error  of  the  ancients  or  an  impudent  tale  of  their 
copyists."  Elsewhere  he  condemns  prescriptions  of 
lodestone  as  "an  evil  and  deadly  advice"  and  as  "an 
abominable  imposture. ' ' 

In  the  sixth  and  last  book  of  De  Magnete,  Gilbert  sets 
forth  his  views  on  such  astronomical  subjects  as  the 
figure  of  the  earth,  its  suspension  in  space,  rotation  on 
its  axis  and  revolution  around  the  sun. 

As  to  the  figure  of  our  planet,  the  primitive  view 
widely  credited  in  early  times  was  that  the  earth  is  a 
flat,  uneven  mass  floating  in  a  boundless  ocean.  The 
Hindoos,  however,  did  not  accept  the  flatland  doctrine, 
but  taught  that  the  earth  was  a  convex  mass  which 
rested  on  the  back  of  a  triad  of  elephants  having  for 
their  support  the  carapace  of  a  gigantic  tortoise.  Of 
course,  they  did  not  say  how  the  complaisant  chelonian 
contrived  to  maintain  his  wonderful  state  of  equil- 
ibrium under  the  superincumbent  mass. 

Aristotle  (384-322,  B.  C. )  taught  that  the  earth,  fixed 
in  the  center  of  the  universe,  is  not  flat  as  a  disk,  but 
round  as  an  orange,  giving  as  proofs  (1)  the  grad- 
ual disappearance  of  a  ship  standing  out  to  sea  and  (2) 
the  form  of  the  shadow  cast  by  the  earth  in  lunar 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  53 

eclipses,  to  which  others  added  (3)  the  change  in  the 
altitude  of  circumpolar  stars  readily  noticeable  in  trav- 
eling north  or  south.  Aristarchus  of  Samos  (310-250), 
one  of  the  great  astronomers  of  antiquity,  went  further, 
not  fearing  to  teach  that  the  earth  is  spherical  in  form, 
that  it  turns  on  its  axis  daily  and  revolves  annually 
around  the  sun.  Such  orthodox  teaching  did  not,  how- 
ever, commend  itself  to  people  generally,  as  they  did 
not  exactly  like  the  idea  of  being  whisked  round  with 
their  houses  and  cities  at  a  dangerous  speed,  preferring 
to  explain  celestial  phenomena  by  the  rotation  of  the 
vast  celestial  sphere,  with  all  the  starry  host,  round  a 
flat,  immovable  earth.  For  them  such  a  system  of  cos- 
mography recommended  itself  by  its  simplicity  and 
reasonableness  as  well  as  by  the  sense  of  stability,  rest 
and  comfort  which  it  brought  along  with  it. 

Ptolemy,  who  flourished  at  Alexandria  about  150  A. 
D.  and  whose  name  is  associated  with  a  system  of  the 
world,  also  held  that  the  earth  is  spherical  in  form,  giv- 
ing at  the  same  time  some  very  ingenious  proofs  of  his 
belief.  St.  Augustine,  in  the  fourth  century,  was  not 
opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  a  round  earth,  though  he  felt 
the  religious  difficulty  arising  from  the  existence  of 
the  antipodes,  which  difficulty  reached  its  acute  stage 
four  hundred  years  later. 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  Church  did  not  condemn 
the  existence  of  an  antipodean  world  ;  what  it  did  con- 
demn was  the  teaching  of  Virgilius,  Bishop  of  Salzburg, 
to  the  effect  that  this  world,  lying  under  the  equator,  was 
inhabited  by  a  race  of  men  not  descended  from  Adam. 
Virgilius  also  taught  that  the  antipodes  had  a  sun  and 
moon  different  from  ours,  an  astronomical  opinion  for 
which  he  was  never  molested  by  ecclesiastical  authority. 


54  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Boethius,  the  worthy  representative  of  the  natural 
and  the  higher  philosophy  of  the  sixth  century,  wrote 
of  the  earth  as  globe-like  in  form,  but  small  in  compari- 
son with  the  heavens.  Isidore  of  Seville,  in  the  sev- 
enth century,  *' the  most  learned  man  of  his  age,"  and 
the  encyclopedic  Bede,  in  the  eighth,  rejected  the  theory 
of  a  flat,  discoidal  earth  and  returned  to  the  spherical 
form  of  the  early  Greek  astronomers.  But  again, 
centuries  had  to  elapse  before  people  could  be  brought 
to  tolerate  views  of  the  world  that  seemed  so  directly 
opposed  to  the  daily  testimony  of  their  senses. 

The  strong,  conclusive  arguments  which  alone  estab- 
lish this  theory  on  a  firm  basis  were,  however,  not 
known  to  Copernicus  and  could  not  have  been  known  in 
an  age  that  preceded  the  invention  of  the  telescope  and 
in  which  the  astronomer  had  to  be  the  constructor  of 
his  own  crude  wooden  instruments.  The  wonder  is  that 
Copernicus  did  such  excellent  observational  work  on  the 
banks  of  the  Vistula  with  the  rough  appliances  at  his 
disposal.  The  arguments  which  he  put  forward  and 
urged  with  consummate  skill  for  the  acceptance  of  his 
revolutionary  theory  were  its  general  simplicity  and 
probability.  Of  proofs  clear  and  decisive,  he  gave 
none ;  yet,  while  he  was  working  on  his  epoch-making 
treatise,  begun  in  1507  and  published  in  1543  with  dedi- 
cation to  Pope  Paul  III.,  a  direct  proof  of  the  earth's 
spherical  form  was  given  by  the  return  (1528)  from  the 
Philippines  along  an  eastern  route  of  one  of  Magellan's 
ships,  which  had  reached  those  distant  isles  after  cross- 
ing the  western  ocean,  wliich  the  Portuguese  navigator 
called  the  "Pacific,"  from  the  tranquility  of  its  waters. 
For  a  direct  proof  of  the  earth's  annual  motion,  the 
world  had  to  wait  two  hundred  years  more,  until  Bradley 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  55 

discovered  the  "  aberration  of  light "  in  1729 ;  and  for  a 
direct  demonstration  of  its  diurnal  motion  until  Foucault 
made  his  pendulum  experiment  in  the  Pantheon,  in 
1851. 

We  cannot  let  Gilbert's  reference  to  a  "weightless 
earth"  pass  without  a  few  remarks  to  justify  our 
approval  of  the  statement: 

The  idea  connoted  by  the  term  weight  is  the  pull 
which  the  earth  exerts  on  the  mass  of  a  body;  thus, 
when  we  say  that  an  iron  ball  weighs  six  pounds,  we 
mean  that  the  earth  pulls  it  downwards  with  a  force 
equal  to  the  weight  of  six  pounds.  That  the  weight  of 
a  given  lump  of  matter  is  not  a  constant  but  a  depend- 
ent quantity  may  be  seen  from  a  number  of  considera- 
tions. Its  weight  in  vacuo,  for  instance,  is  different 
from  its  weight  in  air,  and  this  latter  differs  considerably 
from  its  weight  in  water  or  in  oil.  Again,  if  we  take 
our  experimental  ball  down  the  shaft  of  a  mine,  the 
spring-balance  used  to  measure  the  pull  of  the  earth  on 
it  will  not  record  six  pounds  but  something  less ;  and 
the  further  we  descend,  the  less  will  the  spring-balance 
be  found  to  register.  At  a  depth  of  two  thousand  miles 
below  the  surface,  the  ball  would  be  found  to  have  lost 
half  its  weight ;  and  at  a  depth  of  four  thousand,  all  its 
weight.  At  the  earth's  center  a  "box  of  weights" 
would  still  be  called  a  "box  of  weights,"  though  neither 
the  box  itself  nor  its  enclosed  standards  singly  or  col- 
lectively would  have  any  weight  whatever.  It  has  been 
shown  experimentally  that  two  masses  weigh  slightly 
less  when  placed  one  above  the  other  than  when  placed 
side  by  side,  because  in  the  latter  case  their  common 
mass-center  is  measurably  nearer  to  the  center  of  the 
earth.    Every  mother  knows  that  when  a  boy  is  sent 


56  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

to  buy  a  pound  of  candy,  it  is  the  mass  of  the  sweet 
stuff  that  makes  him  happy,  and  not  its  weight,  for  this 
acts  more  Hke  an  incumbrance  while  he  is  bringing  it 
home.  Of  course,  weight  is  every  day  used,  and  cor- 
rectly, as  a  measure  of  mass,  for  every  student  of 
mechanics  writes  without  the  least  hesitation, 

W=Mg. 
by  which  he  simply  means  that  the  weight  of  a  body  is 
directly  proportional  to  its  mass  (M),  which  is  constant 
wherever  the  body  may  be  taken,  and  to  the  intensity 
of  gravity  (g),  which  varies  slightly  with  geographical 
position.  As  both  scale-pans  of  an  ordinary  balance 
are  equally  affected  by  the  local  value  of  g,  it  follows 
that  equilibrium  is  established  only  when  the  two  masses 
—that  of  the  body  and  that  of  the  standards— are  them- 
selves equal :  hence  weighing  is  in  reality  only  a  process 
of  comparing  masses,  ^.  e.,  a  process  of  "massing." 

If  we  bring  our  experimental  ball  to  the  top  of  a  hill 
or  to  the  summit  of  a  mountain  or  aloft  in  a  balloon,  we 
find  the  pull  on  the  registering  spring  growing  less  and 
less  as  we  go  higher  and  higher,  from  which  we  natur- 
ally conclude  that  if  we  could  go  far  enough  out  into 
circumterrestrial  space,  say,  towards  the  moon,  the 
ball  would  lose  its  weight  entirely ;  it  would  cease  to 
stretch  the  spring  of  the  measuring  balance,  its  weight 
vanishing  at  a  definite,  calculable  distance  from  the 
earth's  center.  If  carried  beyond  that  point  the  ball 
would  come  under  the  moon's  preponderating  attraction 
and  would  begin  to  depress  anew  the  index  of  the  bal- 
ance until  at  the  surface  of  our  satellite  it  would  be 
found  to  weigh  exactly  one  pound.  If  transferred  to 
the  planet  Mars  the  ball  would  weigh  two  pounds,  and 
if  to  the  surface  of  the  giant  planet  Jupiter,  sixteen 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  57 

pounds.  But  while  its  weight  thus  changes  continually, 
its  mass  or  quantity  of  matter,  the  stuff  of  which  it  is 
made,  remains  constant  all  the  while,  being  equally  un- 
affected by  such  variables  as  motion,  position  or  even 
temperature. 

Returning  from  celestial  space  to  our  more  congenial 
terrestrial  surroundings,  we  find  a  similar  inconstancy 
in  the  weight  of  the  ball  as  we  travel  from  the  equator 
toward  either  pole,  the  weight  being  least  at  the  equa- 
tor and  slightly  greater  at  either  end  of  our  axis  of 
rotation.  This  change  is  fully  accounted  for  by  the 
spheroidal  figure  of  the  earth  and  its  motion  of  rota- 
tion, in  virtue  of  which,  while  going  from  the  equator 
toward  the  pole,  our  distance  from  the  center  of 
attraction  undergoes  a  slight  diminution,  as  does  also 
the  component  of  the  local  centrifugal  force,  which  is  in 
opposition  to  gravity. 

From  all  this,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  weight  of  a 
body  is  more  of  the  nature  of  an  accidental  rather  than 
an  essential  property  of  matter,  whereas  its  mass  is  a 
necessary  and  unvarying  property.  Hence  we  speak 
with  propriety  of  the  conservation  of  mass  just  as  we 
speak  with  equal  propriety  of  the  conservation  of  en- 
ergy ;  but  we  may  never  speak  or  write  of  the  conser- 
vation of  weight.  The  mass  of  our  iron  ball  is  precisely 
the  same  away  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  it  is 
anywhere  on  the  surface,  whether  a  thousand  miles 
below  the  surface  or  a  thousand  miles  above  it ;  and  the 
same  it  would  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  solar  system 
or  of  the  starry  universe  to  which  it  might  be  taken. 

Since  weight  is  nothing  else  than  the  pull  which  the 
earth  exerts  on  a  body,  it  follows  that,  big  and  massive 
as  our  planet  is,  it  must,  nevertheless,  be  weightless ; 


58  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

for  it  cannot  with  any  degree  of  propriety  be  said  to 
pull  itself.  It  is  incapable  of  producing  even  an  infin- 
itesimal change  in  the  position  of  its  mass-center,  or 
center  of  gravity,  as  this  centroid  is  sometimes  called. 
The  earth  attracts  itself  with  no  force  whatever  ;  but  is 
attracted  and  governed  in  its  annual  movement  by  the 
sun,  the  central  controlling  body  of  our  system,  while 
the  moon  and  planets  play  only  the  part  of  petty 
disturbers. 

It  would,  however,  be  right  to  speak  of  the  weight  of 
the  earth  relatively  to  the  sun  ;  for  the  sun  attracts  the 
mass  of  our  planet  with  a  certain  definite  force,  readily 
<;alculable  from  the  familiar  formula  for  central  force, 
viz.,  mv^/r.,  in  which  m  is  the  mass  of  the  earth,  v  its 
orbital  velocity  and  r  its  distance  from  the  sun.  Sup- 
plying the  numbers,  the  weight  of  the  earth  relatively 
to  the  sun,  comes  out  to  be 

3,000000,000000,000000  or  3X10^^  tons  weight, 
or,  in  words,  three  million  million  million  tons  weight. 

It  may  here  be  noted  that  the  velocity  v  of  the  earth 
in  its  orbit  is  a  varying  quantity,  depending  on  distance 
from  the  sun.  As  this  distance  is  least  in  December 
and  greatest  in  June,  it  follows  that  the  earth  is  heavier 
relatively  to  the  sun  in  winter  than  it  is  in  summer. 

The  mass  of  the  earth,  on  the  other  hand,  is  not  a 
relative  and  variable  quantity,  but  a  constant  and  inde- 
pendent one,  which  would  not  be  affected  either  by  the 
sudden  annihilation  of  all  the  other  members  of  the 
solar  system  or  by  the  instantaneous  or  successive  addi- 
tion of  a  thousand  orbs.  Mass  being  the  product  of 
volume  by  density,  that  of  the  earth  is  6000,000000,- 
000000,000000  or  GXlO^i  tons  mass,  which  reads  six 
thousand  million  million  million  tons  mass. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  59 

The  number  which  expresses  the  mass  of  the  earth 
is  thus  very  different  from  that  which  represents  its 
weight  relatively  to  the  sun.  It  is  obvious  that  the  lat- 
ter would  be  a  much  greater  quantity  if  our  planet  were 
transferred  to  the  orbit  of  Venus  and  very  much  less  if 
transferred  to  that  of  far-off  Jupiter,  but  the  number 
which  expresses  its  mass  would  remain  precisely  the 
same  in  both  cases,  viz.,  the  value  given  above. 

In  elaborating  his  theory  of  magnetism,  and  especially 
his  magnetic  theory  of  the  earth,  Gilbert  made  exten- 
sive use  of  lodestone-globes,  which  he  called  * '  terrellas, " 
i.  e.,  miniature  models  of  the  earth.  In  pursuing  his 
searching  inquiry,  he  was  gradually  led  from  these 
"terrellas"  to  his  great  induction  that  the  earth  itself 
is  a  colossal,  globe-like  magnet.  Following  Norman, 
"the  ingenious  artificer,"  of  Limehouse,  London,  he 
also  showed  that  the  entire  cubical  space  which  sur- 
rounds a  lodestone  is  an  "orb  of  virtue,"  or  region  of 
influence,  from  which  he  inferred  that  the  earth  itself 
must  have  its  "orb  of  virtue,"  or  magnetic  field,  ex- 
tending outward  to  a  very  great  distance. 

Gilbert  does  not,  for  a  moment,  think  that  this  theory 
of  terrestrial  magnetism,  the  first  ever  given  to  the 
world,  is  a  wild  speculation.  Far  from  it ;  he  is  con- 
vinced that  "it  will  stand  as  firm  as  aught  that  ever 
was  produced  in  philosophy,  backed  by  ingenious  argu- 
mentation or  buttressed  by  mathematical  demonstra- 
tion." 

If  the  earth  has  a  magnetic  field,  he  argued,  why  not 
the  moon,  the  planets  and  the  sun  itself,  "the  mover 
and  inciter  of  the  universe"?  Given  these  planetary 
magnetic  fields,  Gilbert  seems  to  have  no  difficulty  in 
finding  out  the  forces  necessary  to  account  for  the  cru- 


60  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

cial  difficulties  of  the  Copernican  doctrine.  Nor  is  the 
medium  absent  that  is  needed  for  the  mutual  action  of 
magnetic  globes,  for  we  are  assured  that  it  is  none 
other  than  the  universal  ether,  which,  he  says  *'is 
without  resistance." 

Gilbert  disposes  of  the  cosmographic  puzzle  of  the 
"suspension  "  of  the  earth  in  space  by  saying,  and  say- 
ing justly,  that  the  earth  "has  no  heaviness  of  its  own, " 
and,  therefore,  "does  not  stray  away  into  every  region 
of  the  sky."  To  emphasize  the  statement,  he  contin- 
ues :  ' '  The  earth,  in  its  own  place,  is  in  no  wise  heavy, 
nor  does  it  need  any  balancing";  and  again,  "The 
whole  earth  itself  has  no  weight."  "By  the  wonder- 
ful wisdom  of  the  Creator,"  he  elsewhere  says,  "forces 
were  implanted  in  the  earth  that  the  globe  itself  might 
with  steadfastness  take  direction." 

Gilbert  holds  that  the  daily  rotation  of  the  earth  on 
its  axis  is  also  caused,  and  maintained  with  strict  uni- 
formity, by  the  same  prevalent  system  of  magnetic 
forces,  for  "lest  the  earth  should  in  divers  ways  perish 
and  be  destroyed,  she  rotates  in  virtue  of  her  magnetic 
energy,  and  such  also  are  the  movements  of  the  rest 
of  the  planets." 

Just  how  this  magnetic  energy  acts  to  produce  the 
rotatory  motion  of  a  massive  globe  Gilbert  does  not  say. 
Nor  was  he  able  to  solve  such  a  magnetic  riddle,  for  there 
was  nothing  in  his  philosophy  to  explain  how  a  lode- 
stone-globe  in  free  space  should  ever  become  a  perpetual 
magnetic  motor.  Oddly  enough  he  disagrees  with  Per- 
egrinus,  who  maintained  in  his  Epistola,  1269,  that  a 
terrella,  or  spherical  lodestone,  poised  in  the  meridian, 
would  turn  on  its  axis  regularly  every  24  hours.  He- 
naively  says :   ' '  We  have  never  chanced  to  see  this ;, 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  61 

nay,  we  doubt  if  there  is  such  a  movement."  Continu- 
ing, he  brings  out  his  chnching  argument :  ' '  This  daily 
rotation  seems  to  some  philosophers  wonderful  and  in- 
credible because  of  the  ingrained  belief  that  the  mighty 
mass  of  earth  makes  an  orbital  movement  in  24  hours  ; 
it  were  more  incredible  that  the  moon  should  in  the 
space  of  24  hours  traverse  her  orbit  or  complete  her 
course ;  more  incredible  that  the  sun  and  Mars  should 
do  so ;  still  more  that  Jupiter  and  Saturn ;  more  than 
wonderful  would  be  the  velocity  of  the  fixed  stars  and 
firmament." 

Here  he  finds  himself  obliged  to  berate  Ptolemy  for 
being  "over-timid  and  scrupulous  in  apprehending  a 
break  up  of  this  nether  world  were  the  earth  to  move 
in  a  circle.  Why  does  he  not  apprehend  universal  ruin, 
dissolution,  confusion,  conflagration  and  stupendous  cel- 
estial and  super-celestial  calamities  from  a  motion  (that 
of  the  starry  sphere)  which  surpasses  all  imagination, 
all  dreams  and  fables  and  poetic  license,  a  motion  inef- 
fable and  inconceivable?" 

Gilbert  is  not  clear  and  emphatic  on  the  other  doctrine 
of  Copernicus,  the  revolution  of  the  earth  and  planets 
around  the  sun.  He  does,  however,  say  that  each  of 
the  moving  globes  *'has  circular  motion  either  in  a 
great  circular  orbit  or  on  its  own  axis,  or  in  both  ways." 
Again  :  "The  earth  by  some  great  necessity,  even  by  a 
virtue  innate,  evident  and  conspicuous,  is  turned  circu- 
larly about  the  sun. ' '  Elsewhere  he  affirms  that  the  moon 
circles  round  the  earth  "  by  a  magnetic  compact  of  both. '  * 
He  returns  to  this  point  in  his  De  Mundo  Nostra,  saying, 
* '  The  force  which  emanates  from  the  moon  reaches  to 
the  earth ;  and,  in  like  manner,  the  magnetic  virtue  of 
the  earth  pervades  the  region  of  the  moon." 


62  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

We  have  here  an  implied  interaction  between  two' 
magnetic  fields,  rather  a  clever  idea  for  a  magnetician 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  one  case,  the  reaction  is 
between  the  field  of  the  earth  and  that  of  the  moon, 
compelling  the  latter  to  rotate  round  its  primary  once 
every  month  ;  and  the  second,  between  the  field  of  the 
earth  and  that  of  the  sun,  compelling  our  planet  to  re- 
volve round  the  center  of  our  system  once  every  year. 

Though  an  inefficient  cause  of  the  annual  motion  of 
our  planet,  this  interaction  of  two  magnetic  fields  had, 
nevertheless,  something  in  common  with  the  idea  of  the 
mutual  action  of  material  particles  postulated  in  the 
Newtonian  theory  of  universal  gravitation. 

This  magnetic  assumption  by  which  Gilbert  sought 
to  defend  the  theory  of  the  universe  propounded  by 
Copernicus  was  a  very  vulnerable  point  in  his  astronom- 
ical armor  which  was  promptly  detected  and  fiercely 
assailed  by  a  galaxy  of  continental  writers  ;  all  of  them 
churchmen,  physicists  and  astronomers  of  note.  They 
accepted  Gilbert's  electric  and  magnetic  discoveries  and 
warmed  up  to  his  experimental  method ;  they  did  not 
discard  his  theory  of  terrestrial  magnetism,  but  rejected 
and  scoffed  at  the  use  which  he  made  of  it  to  justify 
the  heliocentric  theory.  They  poked  fun  at  the  English 
philosopher  for  his  magnetic  hypothesis  of  planetary 
rotation  and  revolution,  and  succeeded  in  discrediting 
the  Copernican  doctrine.  Error  prevailed  for  a  time, 
but  Newton's  Principia,  published  in  1687,  gave  the 
Ptolemaic  system  the  coup  de  grace.  Gilbert's  hypoth- 
esis of  the  interaction  of  planetary  magnetic  fields  gave 
way  to  universal  gravitation,  and  Copernicanism  was^ 
finally  triumphant. 

Throughout  the  pages  of  Gilbert's  treatise,  he  shows 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  ,      63^ 

himself  remarkably  chary  in  bestowing  praise,  but  sur- 
prisingly vigorous  in  denunciation.  St.  Thomas  is  an 
instance  of  the  former,  for  it  is  said  that  he  gets  at  the 
nature  of  the  lodestone  fairly  well ;  and  it  is  admitted 
that  "with  his  godlike  and  perspicacious  mind,  he 
would  have  developed  many  a  point  had  he  been  ac- 
quainted with  magnetic  experiments."  Taisnier,  the 
Belgian,  is  an  example  of  the  latter,  whose  plagiarism 
from  Peregrinus  wrings  from  our  indignant  author 
such  withering  words  as  "May  the  gods  damn  all 
such  sham,  pilfered,  distorted  works,  which  so  muddle 
the  minds  of  students !  " 

Besides  his  treatise  on  the  magnet,  Gilbert  is  the 
author  of  an  extensive  work  entitled,  "De  Mundo 
Nostro  Sublunari,"  in  which  he  defends  the  modern 
system  of  the  universe  propounded  by  Copernicus  and 
gives  his  views  on  important  cosmical  problems.  This 
work  was  published  after  the  author's  death,  first  at 
Stettin  in  1628,  and  again  at  Amsterdam  in  1651. 

Chancellor  Bacon  was  well  acquainted  with  this  treatise 
of  our  philosopher  ;  indeed  he  had  in  his  collection  the 
only  two  manuscript  copies  ever  made,  one  in  Latin  and 
the  other  in  English,  a  very  singular  and  significant 
fact  in  view  of  the  Chancellor's  attitude  toward  Gilbert. 
Putting  it  crudely,  one  would  like  to  know  how  he  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  manuscripts  and  what  was  his 
motive  in  keeping  them  hidden  away  from  the  philoso- 
phers of  the  day.  "It  is  considered  surprising,"  writes 
Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thompson,  "that  Bacon,  who  had  the 
manuscripts  in  his  possession  and  held  them  for  years 
unpublished,  should  have  written  severe  strictures  upon 
their  dead  author  and  his  methods,  while  at  the  very 
same  time  posing  as  the  discoverer  of  the  inductive 


64  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

method  in  science,  a  method  which  Gilberd  (Gilbert) 
had  practised  for  years  before."  ^ 

That  Bacon  was  no  admirer  of  Gilbert's  physical  and 
cosmical  theories  the  following  passages  will  show.  In 
the  " Novum  Organum "  the  Chancellor  wrote:  ''His 
philosophy  is  an  instance  of  extravagant  speculation 
founded  on  insufficient  data  " ;  again,  "As  the  alchemists 
made  a  philosophy  out  of  a  few  experiments  of  the  fur- 
nace, Gilbert,  our  countryman,  hath  made  a  philosophy 
out  of  the  lodestone"  (''The  Advancement  of  Learn- 
ing ") ;  lastly,  "  Gilbert  hath  attempted  a  general  system 
on  the  magnet,  endeavoring  to  build  a  ship  out  of 
materials  not  sufficient  to  make  the  rowing-pins  of  a 
boat "  ( "  De  Augmentis  Scientiarum  " ) . 

One  is  tempted  to  ask  how  this  strange  disregard 
which  Bacon  entertained  for  the  scientific  views  of  the 
greatest  natural  philosopher  of  his  age  and  country 
came  to  exist?  Was  it  due  to  a  feeling  of  jealousy  that 
could  not  brook  a  rival  in  the  domain  of  the  higher 
philosophy,  or  was  it  because  Bacon,  the  anti-Coperni- 
can,  wanted  to  write  down  Gilbert,  the  defender  of 
the  heliocentric  theory,  in  the  British  Isles? 

When  reading  Bacon's  depreciatory  remarks  we  have 
to  remember  that  his  mathematical  and  physical  outfit 
was  very  limited  even  for  the  age  in  which  he  lived ; 
from  which  it  is  safe  to  infer  that  he  was  but  little 
qualified  to  pass  judgment  on  the  value  of  the  electric 
and  magnetic  work  accomplished  in  the  workshops  at 
Colchester  or  on  the  theories  to  which  they  gave  rise. 

Bacon  deserves  praise  for  denouncing  the  prevalent 
system  of  natural  philosophy  which  was  mainly  author- 
itative, speculative  and  syllogistic  instead   of  experi- 

1  "Souvenir  of  Gilberd's  Tercentenary,"  p.  6. 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  65 

mental,  deductive  and  inductive,  but  he  was  inconsistent 
and  forgetful  of  his  own  principles  when  he  belittled 
the  greatest  living  enemy  of  mere  book-learning,  and 
the  most  earnest  advocate,  by  word  and  example,  of 
the  laboratory  methods  for  the  advancement  of  learn- 
ing. 

To  avoid  misapprehension,  it  should  be  here  stated 
that  Bacon  was  not  always  censorious  in  his  treatment 
of  his  illustrious  fellow-citizen,  for  in  several  places 
he  writes  approvingly  of  the  electric  and  magnetic 
experiments  contained  in  De  Magnets,  which  he  calls 
in  his  Advancement  of  Learning,  '*a  painfull  {i.  e., 
painstaking)  experimentall  booke."  In  other  places  he 
draws  so  freely  on  Gilbert  without  acknowledgment  as 
to  come  dangerously  near  the  suspicion  of  plagiarism. 

Gilbert  died,  probably  of  the  plague,  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age,  on  December  10th,  1603,  and  was  buried 
in  the  chancel  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Colchester, 
where  a  mural  tablet  records  in  Latin  the  chief  facts 
of  his  life. 

Dr.  Fuller  in  his  ''Worthies  of  England  "  (1662)  de- 
scribes Gilbert  as  tall  of  stature  and  cheerful  of  **  com- 
plexion," a  happiness,  he  quaintly  remarks,  not  ordin- 
arily found  in  so  hard  a  student  and  retired  a  person.'* 
Concluding  his  appreciation  of  the  philosopher.  Fuller 
writes  :  "Mahomet's  tomb  at  Mecha^  is  said  strangely 
to  hang  up,  attracted  by  some  invisible  loadstone  ;  but 
the  memory  of  this  Doctor  will  never  fall  to  the  ground, 
which  his  incomparable  book  De  Magnete  will  support 
to  eternity." 

Animated  by  a  similar  spirit  of  national  pride,  Dryden 
wrote 

1  See  maghetic  myths,  pasre  5. 


66  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Gilbert  shall  live  till  loadstones  cease  to  draw. 
Or  British  fleets  the  boundless  ocean  awe. 

We  shall  close  these  remarks  by  Hallam's  estimate  of 
Gilbert  as  a  scientific  pioneer,  contained  in  his  Intro- 
duction to  the  Literature  of  Europe.  "The  year  1600," 
he  says,  "was  the  first  in  which  England  produced  a 
remarkable  work  in  physical  science  ;  but  this  was  one 
sufficient  to  raise  a  lasting  reputation  for  its  author. 
Gilbert,  a  physician,  in  his  Latin  treatise  on  the  magnet, 
not  only  collected  all  the  knowledge  which  others  had 
possessed  on  the  subject,  but  became  at  once  the  father 
of  experimental  philosophy  in  this  island ;  and,  by  a 
singular  felicity  and  acuteness  of  genius,  the  founder 
of  theories  which  have  been  revived  after  a  lapse  of 
ages  and  are  almost  universally  received  into  the  creed 
of  science." 

For  well-nigh  three  hundred  years,  De  Magnete  re- 
mained untranslated,  being  read  only  by  the  scholarly 
few.  The  first  translation  was  made  by  P.  Fleury  Mot- 
telay,  of  New  York,  and  published  by  Messrs.  Wiley 
and  Sons  in  the  year  1893.  Mr.  Mottelay  has  given 
much  attention  to  the  bibliography  of  the  twin  sciences 
of  electricity  and  magnetism,  as  the  foot-notes  which 
he  has  added  to  the  translation  abundantly  prove. 

A  second  translation  appeared  in  the  tercentenary  year, 
1900,  and  was  the  work  of  the  members  of  the  Gilbert 
Club,  London,  among  whom  were  Dr.  Joseph  Larmor 
and  Prof.  Silvanus  P.  Thompson.  It  is  a  page-for-page 
translation  with  facsimile  illustrations,  initial  letters 
and  tail-pieces. 

As  one  would  infer  from  the  numerous  references 
contained  in  De  Magnete,  Gilbert  had  a  considerable 
collection  of  valuable  books,  classical  and  modern,  bear- 


NORMAN  AND  GILBERT  67 

ing  on  the  subject  of  his  life-work ;  but  these,  as  well 
as  his  terrellas,  globes,  minerals  and  instruments,  per- 
ished in  the  great  fire  of  London,  1666,  with  the  build- 
ings of  the  College  of  Physicians,  in  which  they  were 
located. 

A  portrait  of  Gilbert  was  preserved  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  Oxford,  for  many  years ;  but  has  long  since 
disappeared  from  its  walls.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
three  hundredth  anniversary  (1903)  of  Gilbert's  death, 
a  fine  painting  representing  the  Doctor  in  the  act  of 
showing  some  of  his  electrical  experiments  to  Queen 
Elizabeth  and  her  court  (including  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
Sir  Francis  Drake  and  Cecil,  Lord  Burleigh,  famous  Sec- 
retary of  State),  was  presented  to  the  Mayor  of  Col- 
chester by  the  London  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers. 
A  replica  of  the  painting  was  sent  to  the  St.  Louis  Ex- 
position, 1904,  where  it  formed  one  of  the  attractions  of 
the  Electricity  Building. 

The  house  in  which  Gilbert  was  born  (1544)  still  stands 
in  Holy  Trinity  Street,  Colchester,  where  it  is  frequently 
visited  by  persons  interested  in  the  history  of  electric 
and  magnetic  science. 

Brother  Potamian. 


68  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  III. 

Franklin  and  Some  Contemporaries. 

As  already  seen,  the  writers  of  Greece  and  Rome  knew 
little  about  the  lodestone  ;  we  have  now  to  add  that  the 
knowledge  of  electricity  which  they  possessed  was  of  the 
same  elementary  character.  They  knew  that  certain 
resinous  substances,  such  as  amber  and  jet  had,  when 
rubbed,  the  property  of  attracting  straws,  feathers,  dry 
leaves  and  other  light  bodies ;  beyond  this,  their  phil- 
osophy did  not  go.  The  Middle  Ages  added  little  to  the 
subject,  as  the  Schoolmen  were  occupied  with  questions 
of  a  higher  order.  The  Saxon  Heptarchy  came  and 
went,  Alcuin  taught  in  the  schools  of  Charlemagne, 
Cardinal  Langton  compelled  a  landless  and  worthless 
king  to  sign  Magna  Charta,  universities  were  founded 
with  Papal  sanction  in  Italy,  France,  Germany,  England 
and  Scotland,  Copernicus  wrote  his  treatise  on  the 
revolution  of  heavenly  bodies  and  dedicated  it  to  Pope 
Paul  III.,  Tycho  Brahe  made  his  famous  astronomical 
observations  at  Uranienborg  and  befriended  at  Prague 
the  penniless  Kepler,  and  Columbus  gave  a  New  World 
to  Castile  and  Leon— all  this  before  the  man  appeared 
who,  using  amber  as  guide,  discovered  a  new  world  of 
phenomena,  of  thought  and  philosophy.  This  man 
was  no  other  that  Gilbert,  whose  discoveries  in  mag- 
netism were  described  in  an  earlier  chapter.  The 
trunk  line  of  his  work  was  magnetism  ;  electricity  was 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  69 

only  a  siding.  One  was  the  main  subject  of  a  life-long 
quest  while  the  other  was  only  a  digression.  It  was  a 
digression  in  which  the  qualities  of  the  native-born 
investigator  are  seen  at  their  very  best :  alertness  and 
earnestness,  resourcefulness  and  perseverance,  all  re- 
warded by  a  rich  harvest  of  valuable  results.  It  is 
refreshing  and  inspiring  to  read  the  Second  Book  of 
Gilbert's  treatise,  De  Magnete,  in  which  are  recorded  in 
quick  succession  the  twenty  important  discoveries  which 
he  made  in  his  new  field  of  labor. 

At  the  very  outset,  he  found  it  necessary  to  invent  a 
recording  instrument  to 
test   the    electrification 
produced  by  rubbing  a 
great   variety    of    sub- 
stances.   This  he  appro- 
priately called  a  verso-  fig.  9 
Hum;  we  would  call  it      ^''^'''''  "^^'<^^^"  ^' electroscope 
an  electroscope.    ' '  Make  to  yourself, ' '  he  says,  ' '  a  rotat- 
ing needle  of  any  sort  of  metal  three  or  four  fingers 
long  and  pretty  light  and  poised  on  a  sharp   point." 
He  then  briskly  rubs  and  brings  near  his  versorium  glass, 
sulphur,  opal,  diamond,  sapphire,  carbuncle,  rock-crystal, 
seahng-wax,  alum,  resin,  etc.,  and  finds  that  all  these 
attract  his  suspended  needle,  and  not  only  the  needle, 
but  everything  else.    His  words  are  remarkable  :   "All 
things  are  drawn  to  electrics. "    Here  is  a  great  advance 
on  the  amber  and  jet,  the  only  two  bodies  previously 
known  as  having  the  power  to  attract  ''straws,  chaff 
and  twigs,"  the  usual  test-substances  of  the  ancients. 
Pursuing  his  investigations,  he  finds  numerous  bodies 
which  perplex  him,  because  when  rubbed  they  do  not 
affect  his  electroscope.    Among  these,  he  enumerates  : 


70  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

bone,  ivory,  marble,  flint,  silver,  copper,  gold,  iron, 
even  the  lodestone  itself.  The  former  class  he  called 
electrica,  electrics ;  the  latter  was  termed  anelectrica, 
non-electrics. 

To  Gilbert  we,  therefore,  are  indebted  for  the  terms 
electric  and  electrical,  which  he  took  from  the  Greek 
name  for  amber  instead  of  succinic  and  succinical,  their 
Latin  equivalents.  The  noun  electricity  was  a  coinage  of 
a  later  period,  due  probably  to  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  in 
whose  Pseudodoxia  Epidemica,  1646,  it  occurs  in  the 
singular  number  on  page  51  and  in  the  plural  on  page 
79.  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  be  here  retold  that 
we  owe  the  chemical  term  affinity  to  Albertus  Magnus, 
barometer  to  Boyle,  gas  to  van  Helmont,  magnetism  to 
Barlowe,  magnetic  inclination  to  Bond,  electric  circuit 
to  Watson,  electric  potential  to  Green,  galvanometer  to 
Gumming,  electro-magnetism  to  Kircher,  electromagnet 
to  Sturgeon,  and  telephone  to  Wheatstone. 

Gilbert  was  perplexed  by  the  anomalous  behavior  of 
his  non-electrics.  He  toiled  and  labored  hard  to  find  out 
the  cause.  He  undertook  a  long,  abstract,  philosophical 
discussion  on  the  nature  of  bodies  which,  from  its  very 
subtlety,  failed  to  reveal  the  cause  of  his  perplexing 
anomaly.  Gilbert  failed  to  discover  the  distinction 
between  conductors  and  insulators ;  and,  as  a  conse- 
quence, never  found  out  that  similarly  electrified  bodies 
repel  each  other.  Had  he  but  suspended  an  excited 
stick  of  sealing-wax,  what  a  promised  land  of  electrical 
wonders  would  have  unfolded  itself  to  his  vision  and 
what  a  harvest  of  results  such  a  reaper  would  have 
gathered  in!  From  solids,  Gilbert  proceeds  to  examine 
the  behavior  of  liquids,  and  finds  that  they,  too,  are 
susceptible  of  electrical  influence.     He  notices  that  a 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  71 

piece  of  rubbed  amber  when  brought  near  a  drop  of 
water  deforms  it,  drawing  it  out  into  a  conical  shape. 
He  even  experiments  with  smoke,  concluding  that  the 
small  carbon  particles  are  attracted  by  an  electrified 
body.  Some  years  ago,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  extending  this 
observation,  proposed  to  lay  the  poisonous  dust  floating 
about  in  the  atmosphere  of  lead  works  by  means  of 
large  electrostatic  machines.  He  even  hinted  in  his 
Royal  Institution  lecture  that  they  might  be  useful  in 
dissipating  mists  and  fogs,  and  recommended  that  a 
trial  be  made  on  some  of  our  ocean-steamers. 

Gilbert  next  tries  heat  as  an  agent  to  produce  electri- 
fication. He  takes  a  red-hot  coal  and  finds  that  it  has 
no  effect  on  his  electroscope  ;  he  heats  a  mass  of  iron 
up  to  whiteness  and  finds  that  it,  too,  exerts  no  electrical 
effect.  He  tries  a  flame,  a  candle,  a  burning  torch,  and 
concludes  that  all  bodies  are  attracted  by  electrics  save 
those  that  are  afire  or  flaming,  or  extremely  rarefied. 
He  then  reverses  the  experiment,  bringing  near  an  ex- 
cited body  the  flame  of  a  lamp,  and  ingenuously  states 
that  the  body  no  longer  attracts  the  pivoted  needle. 
He  thus  discovered  the  neutralizing  effect  of  flames, 
and  supplied  us  with  the  readiest  means  that  we  have 
to-day  for  discharging  non-conductors. 

He  goes  a  step  further ;  for  we  find  him  exposing 
some  of  his  electrics  to  the  action  of  the  sun's  rays  in 
order  to  see  whether  they  acquired  a  charge ;  but  all  his 
results  were  negative.  He  then  concentrates  the  rays 
of  the  sun  by  means  of  lenses,  evidently  expecting 
some  electrical  effect ;  but  finding  none,  concludes  with 
a  vein  of  pathos  that  the  sun  imparts  no  power,  but 
dissipates  and  spoils  the  electric  effluvium. 

Professor  Righi  has  shown  that  a  clean  metallic  plate 


72  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

acquires  a  positive  charge  when  exposed  to  the  ultra- 
violet radiation  from  any  artificial  source  of  light,  but 
that  it  does  not  when  exposed  to  solar  rays.  The 
absence  of  electrical  effects  in  the  latter  case  is  attrib- 
uted to  the  absorptive  action  of  the  atmosphere  on  the 
shorter  waves  of  the  solar  beam. 

Of  course  Gilbert  permits  himself  some  speculation  as 
to  the  nature  of  the  agent  with  which  he  was  dealing. 
He  thought  of  it,  reasoned  about  it,  pursued  it  in  every 
way ;  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  must  be  some- 
thing extremely  tenuous  indeed,  but  yet  substantial, 
ponderable,  material.  "As  air  is  the  effluvium  of  the 
earth,"  he  says,  "so  electrified  bodies  have  an  efflu- 
vium of  their  own,  which  they  emit  when  stimulated 
or  excited";  and  again:  "It  is  probable  that  amber 
exhales  something  peculiar  that  attracts  the  bodies 
themselves." 

These  views  are  quite  in  line  with  the  electronic  the- 
ory of  electricity  in  vogue  to-day,  which  invests  that 
elusive  entity  with  an  atomic  structure.  It  is  held  that 
the  tiny  particles  or  electrons  that  are  shot  out  from 
the  cathode  terminal  of  a  vacuum  tube  with  astounding 
velocity  are  none  other  than  particles  of  negative  elec- 
tricity, pure  and  simple.  They  have  mass  and  inertia, 
both  of  which  properties  are  held  to  be  entirely  elec- 
trical, though  quite  analogous  to  the  mass  and  inertia 
of  ordinary,  ponderable  matter. 

History  shows  that  scientific  theories  have  their  periods 
of  infancy,  maturity  and  decay.  When  they  have 
served  their  purpose,  like  the  scaffolding  of  a  building, 
they  are  removed  from  sight  and  stored  away,  say,  in  a 
limbo  of  discarded  philosophy,  for  use  of  the  historian 
of  science  or  of  the  metaphysician  writing  on  the  nature 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  IZ 

of  human  knowledge.  Such  was  the  fate  of  Gilbert's 
** effluvium"  theory  of  electricity,  of  the  fluid  theories 
of  Dufay  and  Franklin,  and  the  ether-strain  theory 
of  recent  years.  "Each  physical  hypothesis,"  says 
Prof.  Fleming,  "serves  as  a  lamp  to  conduct  us  a  cer- 
tain stage  in  the  journey.  It  illumines  a  limited  portion 
of  the  path,  throwing  light  before  and  behind  for 
some  distance ;  but  it  has  to  be  discarded  and  exchanged 
at  intervals  because  it  has  become  exhausted  and  be- 
cause its  work  is  done." 

It  is  a  little  surprising  that  the  phenomenon  of  electri- 
cal repulsion  should  have  escaped  the  attention  of  one 
so  skilled  in  experimentation  as  Gilbert.  Yet  such 
was  the  case ;  and  Gilbert  even  went  so  far  as  to  deny  its 
very  existence,  saying,  "Electrics  attract  objects  of 
every  kind;  they  never  repel."  This  error  reminds 
one  of  Gilbert's  own  saying  that  "Men  of  acute  intel- 
ligence, without  actual  knowledge  of  facts,  and  in  the 
absence  of  experiment,  easily  slip  and  err. ' '  Just  twenty- 
nine  years  after  Gilbert  had  penned  this  aphorism, 
there  appeared  in  Ferrara  an  extensive  work  on  electric 
and  magnetic  philosophy,  by  the  Jesuit  Cabeo,  in  which 
this  electrical  repulsion  was  recognized  and  described. 
Having  rubbed  one  of  his  electrics,  Cabeo  noticed  that 
it  attracted  grains  of  dust  at  first  and  afterward  re- 
pelled them  suddenly  and  violently.  In  the  case  of 
threads,  hairs  or  filaments  of  any  kind,  he  observed  that 
they  quivered  a  little  before  being  flung  away  like 
sawdust.  This  self-repelling  property  of  electricity, 
described  in  the  year  1629,  opened  up  a  new  field  of 
inquiry,  which  was  actively  explored  by  a  number  of 
brilliant  electricians  in  England  and  on  the  Continent. 

This  was  especially  the  case  after  the  building  of  the 


74  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

first  frictional  machine  by  Otto  von  Guericke  in  1672. 
The  burgomaster  of  Magdeburg  had  already  acquired 
European  fame  by  the  original  and  sensational  experi- 
ments on  atmospheric  pressure  which  he  made  in  pres- 
ence of  the  Emperor  and  his  nobles  in  solemn  diet 
assembled  (1651).  Von  Guericke  seems  to  have  been 
of  a  mind  with  Gilbert  concerning  writers  on  natural 
science  who  treat  their  subjects  * '  esoterically,  miracle- 
mongeringly,  abstrusely,  reconditely,  mystically  ";forhe 
affirms  that  "  oratory,  elegance  of  diction  or  skill  in  dis- 
putation avails  nothing  in  the  field  of  natural  science." 

Von  Guericke 's  machine  consisted  of  a  ball  of  sul- 
phur, with  the  hand  of  the  operator  or  assistant  as  rub- 
ber. Some  years  later,  the  sulphur  ball  was  replaced 
by  Newton  (some  say  Hauksbee)  by  a  glass  globe, 
which,  in  turn,  was  exchanged  for  a  glass  cylinder  by 
Gordon,  a  Scotch  Benedictine,  who  was  Professor  of 
natural  philosophy  in  the  University  of  Erfurt.  In  1755, 
Martin  de  Planta,  of  Sus,  in  Switzerland,  constructed  a 
plate-machine  which  was  subsequently  improved  by 
Ramsden  of  London.  The  frictional  machine,  as  it  was 
rightly  called,  has  been  superseded  by  the  influence 
machine,  a  type  of  static  generator  which  is  at  once 
efficient,  reliable  and  easy  of  operation.  The  best  known 
form  for  laboratory  use  is  that  of  Wimshurst  (1832-1903), 
of  London. 

Andrew  Gordon,  the  Scotch  Benedictine  to  whom  ref- 
erence has  just  been  made,  was  a  man  of  an  inventive 
turn  of  mind.  Besides,  the  cylindrical  electric  machine 
which  he  constructed,  he  devised  several  ingenious 
pieces  of  electrical  apparatus,  among  which  are  the 
electric  chimes  usually  ascribed  to  Franklin.  They  are 
fully  described  in  his  Versuch  einer  Erkldrung  derElec- 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  75 

tricitat,  published  in  1745.  On  page  38,  he  says  that 
he  was  led  to  try  an  electrical  method  of  ringing  bells  ; 
and  then  adds :  "For  this  purpose  I  placed  two  small 
wine-glasses  near  each  other,  one  of  which  stood  on  an 
electrified  board,  while  the  other,  placed  at  a  distance  of 
an  inch  from  it,  was  connected  with  the  ground.  Between 
the  two,  I  suspended  a  little  clapper  by  a  silk  thread, 
which  clapper  was  attracted  by  the 
electrified  glass  and  then  repelled  to 
the  grounded  one,  giving  rise  to  a  sound 
as  it  struck  each  glass.  As  the  clapper 
adhered  somewhat  to  the  glasses,  the  *  ^ 
effect  on  the  whole  was  not  agreeable. 
I,  therefore,  substituted  two  small  me-  p^^  ^^ 

tallic  gongs  suspended  one  from  an  ^Sellws^*^ 
electrified  conductor  and  the  other  from  a  grounded  rod, 
the  gongs  being  on  the  same  level  and  one  inch  apart. 
When  the  clapper  was  lowered  and  adjusted,  it  moved 
at  once  to  the  electrified  bell,  from  which  it  was  driven 
over  to  the  other,  and  kept  on  moving  to  and  fro,  strik- 
ing the  bell  each  time  with  pleasing  effect  until  the 
electrified  bell  lost  its  charge."  In  the  illustration,  a 
is  connected  with  the  electrified  conductor ;  b  is  the  insu- 
lated clapper ;  c  the  grounded  gong. 

Gordon's  book  was  published  in  Erfurt  in  1745,  while 
the  year  1752  is  that  in  which  Franklin  applied  the 
chimes  to  his  experimental  rod  to  apprise  him  of  the 
approach  of  an  electric  storm,  an  application  which  was 
original  and  quite  in  keeping  with  the  practical  turn  of 
mind  that  characterized  our  journeyman-printer,  phil- 
osopher and  statesman.  Unquestionably,  Franklin  had 
all  the  ingenuity  and  constructive  ability  needed  to 
make  such  an  appliance  ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 


76  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

he  actually  invented  it.  Though  Franklin  neither  claimed 
nor  disclaimed  the  chimes  as  his  own,  all  his  admirers 
would  have  preferred  less  reticence  on  his  part  when 
the  discoveries  and  inventions  of  contemporary  workers 
in  the  electrical  field  were  concerned.  He  had  attained 
sufficient  eminence  to  permit  him  to  look  appreciatingly 
and  encouragingly  on  the  efforts  of  others. 

Gordon  also  invented  a  toy  electric  motor  in  which 
rotation  was  effected  by  the  reaction  of  electrified  air- 
particles  escaping  from  a  number  of  sharp  points.  One 
of  these  motors  consisted  of  a  star  of  light  rays  cut  from 
a  sheet  of  tin  and  pivoted  at  the  center,  with  the  ends 
of  the  rays  slightly  bent  aside  and  all  in  the  same 
direction.  When  electrified,  Gordon  noticed  that  the 
star  required  no  extraneous  help  to  set  it  in  motion.  It 
was  a  self-starting  electric-motor.  In  the  dark,  the 
points  were  tipped  with  light,  and  as  they  revolved 
traced  out  a  luminous  circle  which  "could  neither  be 
blown  out  nor  decreased." 

The  reader  will  recognize  in  this  description  taken 
from  Gordon's  Versuch,  page  45,  the  electric  whirl  of 
the  lecture-table ;  Gordon's  name  is  never  associated 
with  it,  but  that  of  Hamilton  (Hamilton's  "fly"  or 
Hamilton's  "mill")  sometimes  is! 

This  irrepressible  monk  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
the  earliest  electrocutors,  for  it  is  said  that  many  an 
innocent  chaffinch  fell  victim  to  discharges  from  his 
machine  ;  and  we  would  be  disposed  to  think  of  him  as 
a  wizard  on  learning  that  he  ignited  spirits  by  using  an 
electrified  stream  of  water,  to  the  astonishment  and 
mystification  of  the  spectators. 

Abbe  Menon  was  kinder  to  the  feathered  tribe  than 
his  black-cowled  brother  of  Erfurt ;  he  did  not  subject 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES         11 

them  to  a  powerful  discharge,  but  rather  to  a  gentle 
electrification  for  the  purpose  of  determining  what 
physical  or  physiological  effect  the  agent  would  have  on 
the  animal  system.  The  Abbe  found  that  cats,  pigeons, 
sparrows  and  chaffinches  lost  weight  by  being  electrified 
for  five  or  six  hours  at  a  time,  from  which  he  concluded 
that  electricity  augments  the  slow,  continuous  perspira- 
tion of  animals.  The  same  was  found  to  take  place 
with  the  human  body  itself.  The  reader  will  remember 
that  Stephen  Gray  in  1730  suspended  a  boy  by  means  of 
silken  cords  for  the  purpose  of  electrification;  Abbe 
NoUet  did  the  same,  and  doubtless  his  friend  Abbe 
Menon  adopted  a  similar  mode  of  insulation  for  com- 
placent electrical  subjects.  An  easier  mode  of  operat- 
ing would  have  been  to  make  the  child  stand  on  a  cake 
of  resin,  the  insulating  property  of  which  had  been 
discovered  by  Stephen  Gray. 

About  this  time,  1746,  Franklin  appears  on  the  scene, 
and  though  he  devoted  but  nine  years  (1746-1755)  of  his 
life  to  the  study  of  electricity,  he  made  discoveries  in 
that  fascinating  branch  of  human  knowledge  that  will 
hand  his  name  down  the  centuries. 

Franklin's  life  is  interesting  and  instructive  on  ac- 
count of  the  difficulties  which  he  met  and  overcame,  for 
his  strength  of  will,  tenacity  of  purpose,  the  philosophy 
which  he  followed,  his  devotedness  to  science,  and  the 
success  which  he  achieved. 

Our  philosopher's  moral  code  comprised  the  thirteen 
virtues  of  temperance,  silence,  order,  resolution,  frugal- 
ity, industry,  sincerity,  justice,  moderation,  cleanliness, 
tranquility,  chastity  and  humility.  To  each  of  these 
virtues  Franklin  attached  a  precept  which  makes  edi- 
fying reading  even  at  the  present  day :  temperance,  eat 


78  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

not  to  dullness,  drink  not  to  elation  ;  silence,  speak  not 
but  what  may  benefit  others  or  yourself,  avoid  trifling 
conversation ;  order,  let  all  your  things  have  their 
places,  let  each  part  of  your  business  have  its  time ;  reso- 
lution, resolve  to  perform  what  you  ought,  perform  with- 
out fail  what  you  resolve  ;  frugality,  make  no  expense, 
but  do  good  to  others  or  yourself,  i.  e. ,  waste  nothing  ; 
industry,  lose  no  time,  be  always  employed  in  something 
useful,  cut  off  all  unnecessary  actions ;  sincerity,  use  no 
hurtful  deceit,  think  innocently  and  justly,  and  if  you 
speak,  speak  accordingly  ;  justice,  wrong  no  one  by 
doing  injury  or  omitting  the  benefits  that  are  your 
duty ;  moderation,  avoid  extremes,  forbear  resenting 
injuries  so  much  as  you  think  they  deserve ;  cleanliness, 
tolerate  no  uncleanliness  in  body,  clothes  or  habitation ; 
tranquility,  be  not  disturbed  by  trifles  or  accidents 
common  or  unavoidable ;  chastity  (no  remark) ;  humility, 
imitate  Jesus. 

This  last  virtue  seems  to  have  given  Franklin  very 
much  concern  ;  for  he  admits  that  he  had  the  appear- 
ance of  humility,  and  immediately  adds  that  in  reality 
there  is  no  passion  of  the  human  breast  so  hard  to  sub- 
due as  pride.  He  is  shrewd  enough  to  say  that  '  *  even 
if  I  could  conceive  that  I  had  completely  overcome  it,  I 
should  probably  be  proud  of  my  humility."  Like  many 
another,  the  virtue  which  gave  him  the  most  trouble 
was  order,  and  this  never  became  conspicuously  appar- 
ent at  any  time  of  his  long  life. 

In  his  endeavors  after  the  higher  life,  he  seems  to 
have  been  animated  with  the  earnest  spirit  of  the 
ascetic  who  binds  himself  to  strive  after  perfection  as 
laid  down  in  the  maxims  and  counsels  of  the  Gospel.' 
It  is  not  without  surprise  and  perhaps  a  feeling  too  of 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  79 

self-condemnation,  that  we  read  the  means  which  he 
adopted  to  reach  a  high  moral  standard.  Taking  for 
granted  that  he  had  a  true  appreciation  of  right  and 
wrong,  he  did  not  see  why  he  should  not  always  act 
according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.  To  improve 
himself  morally  and  advance  in  the  higher  life,  he 
adopted  a  means  that  should  have  proved  effective. 
Taking  the  first  of  the  thirteen  fundamental  virtues, 
he  applied  himself  to  its  acquisition  for  a  whole  week 
together,  after  which  he  took  the  second,  then  the 
third,  and  so  on  with  the  rest.  He  thought  that  by 
making  daily  acts  of  the  virtue,  it  would  become 
habitual  with  him  at  the  end  of  the  week.  When  the 
last  of  the  thirteen  virtues  had  received  its  share  of 
attention,  he  returned  to  the  first  one  on  the  list  and 
proceeded  round  the  cycle  again.  Being  a  man  of  pur- 
pose and  tenacity,  he  completed  the  circle  of  his  chosen 
virtues  four  times  a  year;  subsequently  he  extended 
the  time  of  individual  practise  so  as  to  take  a  whole 
year  for  the  course ;  and  later  on,  he  devoted  several 
years  to  the  completion  of  his  list. 

As  an  aid  in  this  work  of  self-betterment,  Franklin 
examined  himself  daily,  registering  his  failures  in  a 
little  book  which  was  ruled  for  the  purpose,  a  column 
being  allowed  for  each  day  and  a  line  for  each  of  the 
thirteen  virtues.  He  naively  tells  us  the  result  of  this 
exercise  of  daily  introspection  in  these  words :  "I  am 
surprised  to  find  myself  so  much  fuller  of  faults  than  I 
had  imagined ;  but  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them 
diminish." 

The  evening  examination  of  conscience  was  always 
concluded  by  the  following  prayer  written  by  Franklin 
himself:    "0  powerful   Goodness!  bountiful   Father F 


so  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

merciful  Guide !  increase  in  me  that  wisdom  which  dis- 
covers my  truest  interest.  Stren^hen  my  resolutions 
to  perform  what  that  wisdom  dictates.  Accept  my 
kind  offices  to  Thy  other  children  as  the  only  return  in 
my  power  for  Thy  continual  favors  to  me." 

An  extensive  reader,  Franklin  found  in  Thomson's 
poems  some  lines  that  appealed  to  him  very  strongly 
by  the  beauty  of  the  sentiment  expressed.  He  called 
them  "a  little  prayer,"  which  he  recited  from  time  to 
time: 

"Father  of  light  and  hfe.  Thou  Lord  Supreme, 
Oh,  teach  me  what  is  good  ;  teach  me  Thyself. 
Save  me  from  folly,  vanity  and  vice  ; 
From  every  low  pursuit ;  and  fill  my  soul 
With  knowledge,  conscious  peace  and  virtue  pure ; 
Sacred,  substantial,  never-failing  bliss !  " 

His  was  a  praiseworthy  attempt  at  emancipating 
himself  from  the  thraldom  of  passion  and  raising  him- 
self to  the  high  plane  of  perfection  required  by  the 
Master  when  He  said  "Follow  Me."  Doubtless,  as 
time  wore  on,  he  must  have  felt  as  many  before  and 
since,  that  the  spirit  is  willing  but  the  flesh  is  weak. 

In  his  autobiography,  Franklin  attributes  his  success 
in  business  not  only  to  his  self-control,  uniformity  of 
conduct,  philosophical  indifference  to  slight  or  pique, 
but  also  to  his  habits  of  frugality,  the  result  in  part  of 
ihis  early  training.  "My  original  habits  of  frugality 
continuing,"  he  says,  "and  my  father  having  fre- 
quently repeated  a  proverb  of  Solomon,  'Seest  thou  a 
man  diligent  in  his  business  ?  he  shall  stand  before 
kings, '  I  from  thence  considered  industry  as  a  means  of 
obtaining  wealth  and  distinction,  which  encouraged  me, 
tho'  I  did  not  think  that  I  should  ever  literally  stand  be- 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  81 

fore  kings,  which,  however,  has  since  happened."  Our 
aged  philosopher  proceeds  to  tell  us  of  his  good  fortune 
with  a  little  bit  of  pardonable  vanity,  to  which,  by  the 
way,  he  was  never  a  great  stranger,  despite  his  philos- 
ophy, acquired  virtue,  and  staid  character.  Referring 
to  the  kings  of  the  earth,  he  informs  us  that  he  "stood 
before  five,  and  even  had  the  honor  of  sitting  down 
with  one  to  dinner." 

An  important  event  in  Franklin's  life  was  the  found- 
ing by  him  of  the  first  public  library  in  the  country  in 
the  year  1732.  Though  but  twenty-six  years  of  age,  he 
seems  to  have  been  as  well  aware  as  any  of  the  mil- 
lionaire philanthropists  of  to-day,  of  the  good  that  may 
be  accomplished  among  common  people  by  providing 
them  with  suitable  reading  matter.  He  watched  with 
eagerness  the  progress  of  his  experiment  and  was 
pleased  with  the  success  that  crowned  it.  He  observes 
that  such  libraries  "tend  to  improve  the  conversation  of 
Americans  and  to  make  common  tradesmen  and  farmers 
as  intelligent  (well-informed  ?)  as  most  gentlemen  from 
other  countries." 

Peter  Collinson,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
London,  who  had  dealings  with  some  Philadelphia 
merchants,  was  led  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the 
library.  This  he  did  by  sending  over  a  number  of  books 
and  papers  relating  to  electricity  together  with  an 
"electrical  tube"  with  instructions  for  its  use. 

These  literary  and  scientific  contributions  sent  from 
London  from  time  to  time,  excited  much  interest  among 
the  charter  members  of  the  Library  Company,  and 
principally  that  of  Franklin  himself.  He  had  heard 
something  of  the  new  order  of  phenomena  which  was 
just  then  engaging  the  attention  of  European  physicists. 


82  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

In  the  summer  of  1746,  while  on  a  visit  to  Boston,  his 
native  place,  he  assisted  at  a  lecture  on  electricity  by  a 
certain  Dr.  Spence,  a  Scotchman,  who  sought  to  illustrate 
the  properties  of  electrified  bodies  by  such  experiments 
as  could  be  made  with  glass  tubes  and  suitable  rubbers, 
the  rudimentary  apparatus  available  at  the  time.  Frank- 
lin was  impressed  by  what  he  saw  and  heard,  even 
though  he  indulged  in  a  little  destructive  criticism  when 
he  said  that  the  experiments  were  "imperfectly  made," 
because  the  lecturer  was  ''not  very  expert."  When 
Franklin  wrote  those  words,  he  knew  by  repeated  and 
painful  experience  the  difficulty  of  getting  satisfactory 
results  from  rubbing  glass  tubes  or  rotating  glass  globes, 
owing  to  the  provoking  attraction  which  plain,  untreated 
glass  has  for  moisture.  Knowing  this,  he  might  have^ 
been  less  severe  in  his  strictures  on  his  friend,  the 
peripatetic  electrician. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  experiments  which  he 
witnessed  surprised  and  pleased  him,  for,  having  shortly 
afterward  received  some  electrical  tubes  together  with 
a  paper  of  instructions,  from  his  London  friend,  Peter 
Collinson,  he  set  to  work  for  himself  without  delay. 
We  may  well  say  of  him  that  what  his  right  hand  found 
to  do,  he  did  calmly,  but  with  all  his  might.  A  twelve- 
month had  not  elapsed  before  he  wrote  :  "I never  was 
engaged  in  any  study  that  so  totally  engrossed  my 
attention  and  time  as  this  has  lately  done  ;  for,  what 
with  making  experiments  when  I  can  be  alone  and  re- 
peating them  to  my  friends  and  acquaintance  who,  from 
the  novelty  of  the  thing,  come  continually  in  crowds  to 
see  them,  I  have  had  httle  leisure  for  anything  else." 
(1747.) 

Here  we  see  the  calm,  persistent  character  of  the 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  83 

philosopher  united  with  the  affabihty  and  communica- 
tiveness of  the  gentleman. 

For  the  sake  of  encouraging  others  as  well,  perhaps, 
as  through  a  sense  of  personal  relief,  Franklin  had  a 
number  of  long  tubes  of  large  bore  blown  at  the  local 
glass-house,  which  tubes  he  distributed  to  his  friends 
that  they,  too,  might  engage  in  research  work.  In  this 
way,  rubbing  and  rubbing  of  an  energetic  kind  became 
quite  an  occupation  in  the  Franklin  circle.  Kinnersley, 
whose  name  still  survives  in  works  on  static  electricity 
in  connection  with  an  electric  "thermometer"  which 
he  devised,  was  among  the  band  of  ardent  workers  who 
ungrudgingly  acknowledged  Franklin's  superior  acu- 
men, comprehensive  grasp  of  detail  and  wondrous  insight 
into  the  mechanism  of  the  new  phenomena.  If  we  say 
that  Franklin  was  not  a  genius,  it  is  only  for  the  pur- 
pose of  adding  that  even  in  those  early  electrical  studies 
he  displayed  an  uncommon  amount  of  the  unlimited 
capacity  for  taking  pains  which  is  said  to  be  associated 
with  that  brilliant  gift.  He  tested  all  his  results  with 
great  care  and  in  a  variety  of  ways  before  accepting 
any  of  them  as  final;  and  considered  his  explanations  of 
them  provisional,  being  ever  ready  to  modify  them  or 
give  them  up  altogether  if  shown  to  conflict  with  the 
simple  workings  of  nature. 

As  early  as  1733,  the  refined  and  tactful  Dufay,  in 
France,  showed  by  numerous  experiments  on  woods, 
stones,  books,  oranges  and  metals  that  all  solid  bodies 
were  susceptible  of  electrification.  This  was  a  notable 
advance  which  swept  away  Gilbert's  classification  of 
bodies  into  electrics  and  non-electrics.  The  French 
physicist  soon  drew  from  his  observations  the  conclusion 
that  electrification  produced  by  friction  is  of  two  kinds. 


84  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

to  which  he  applied  the  terms  vitreous  and  resinous,  the 
former  being  developed  when  glass  is  rubbed  with  silk 
and  the  latter  when  amber  or  common  sealing-wax  is 
rubbed  with  flannel.  He  noticed,  too,  that  silk  strings 
repelled  each  other  when  both  were  touched  either  with 
excited  glass  or  sealing-wax ;  but  that  they  attracted 
each  other  when  touched  one  with  glass  and  the  other 
with  sealing-wax.  From  these  observations,  he  deduced 
the  electrostatic  laws,  that  similarly  electrified  bodies 
attract  while  dissimilarly  electrified  bodies  repel  each 
other. 

The  law  of  distance  was  discovered  later  by  Coulomb, 
who,  in  1785,  showed  that  the  law  of  repulsion  as  well  as 
of  attraction  between  two  electrified  particles  varies  in- 
versely as  the  square  of  the  distance.  In  the  year  1750, 
the  law  of  the  inverse  square  for  magnets  was  stated  by 
John  Michell,  who  expressed  it  by  saying  that  the  "at- 
traction and  repulsion  decrease  as  the  square  of  the 
distance  from  the  respective  poles  increases."  Michell 
was  fourth  wrangler  of  his  year  (1748-9),  Fellow  of 
Queen's  College,  Cambridge,  and  inventor  of  the  torsion 
balance,  which,  however,  he  did  not  live  to  use ;  but 
which,  in  the  hands  of  Cavendish,  yielded  important 
results  on  the  mean  density  of  the  earth.  Coulomb  proba- 
bly re-invented  the  "balance  "  and  applied  the  practi- 
cal, laboratory  instrument  which  he  made  it,  to  the  study 
of  the  quantitative  laws  of  electricity  and  magnetism. 

To  observe  and  correlate  phenomena  is  the  special 
work  of  the  physicist ;  to  speculate  on  ultimate  causes  is 
the  privilege  of  the  philosopher.  Duf ay  was  both.  The 
theory  which  he  offered  was  a  simple  one,  even  if 
untrue  to  nature.  It  was  a  good  working  hypothesis 
for  the  time  being. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  85 

According  to  this  theory,  there  are  two  distinct,  inde- 
pendent electrical  fluids  mutually  attractive  but  self- 
repelling.  With  that  postulate,  Duf ay  was  able  to  offer 
a  plausible  explanation  of  a  great  many  phenomena 
that  puzzled  the  electricians  of  the  time. 

Franklin,  however,  held  a  different  view ;  rejecting 
the  dual  nature  of  electricity,  he  propounded  his  one- 
fluid  theory,  which  was  found  equally  capable  of  ex- 1 
plaining  electrical  phenomena.  A  body  having  an 
excess  of  the  fluid  was  said  to  be  positively  charged, 
while  one  with  a  deficit  was  said  to  be  negatively 
charged.  The  sign  plus  was  used  in  one  case  and  the 
sign  minus  in  the  other ;  and  just  as  two  algebraical 
quantities  of  equal  magnitude  but  opposite  sign  give 
zero  when  added  together,  so  a  conductor  to  which 
equal  quantities  of  positive  and  negative  electricity 
would  be  given  would  be  in  the  neutral  state.  The 
Franklinian  theory  was  welcomed  in  England,  Germany 
and  Italy,  but  it  met  with  opposition  in  France  from  the 
brilliant  Abbe  NoUet  and  the  followers  of  Dufay. 

Each  of  the  rival  theories  affords  a  mental  conception 
of  the  forces  in  play  and  also  a  consistent  explanation 
of  the  resulting  phenomena.  Their  simplicity,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  the  comprehensiveness  of  explanation 
which  they  afford,  will  continue  to  give  them  a  place  in 
our  text-books  for  many  years  to  come. 

Efforts  are  being  made  to  apply  the  electronic  theory 
to  the  various  phenomena  of  electrostatics,  the  electron 
being  the  smallest  particle  of  electricity  that  can  have 
separate,  individual  existence.  It  is  many  times  smaller 
than  the  hydrogen  atom,  the  smallest  of  chemical 
atoms,  and  it  possesses  all  the  properties  of  negative  elec- 
tricity.   By  the  loss  of  one  or  more  electrons,  a  body 


86  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

becomes  positively  electrified,  whereas  by  the  acquisi- 
tion of  one  or  more  electrons  it  becomes  negatively  elec- 
trified. The  electron  at  rest  gives  rise  to  the  phenomena 
of  electrostatics  ;  in  motion,  it  gives  rise  to  electrical 
currents,  electromagnetism  and  electric  radiation. 

We  do  not  know  what  led  Franklin  to  call  positive 
the  electrification  of  glass  when  rubbed  with  silk,  and 
negative  that  of  sealing-wax  when  rubbed  with  flannel. 
If  he  meant  to  imply  that  positive  is  the  more  impor- 
tant of  the  two,  he  erred,  for  many  reasons  can  be 
given  to  show  the  preponderating  influence  of  negative 
electricity  ;  but  it  is  too  late  now  to  change  the  termin- 
ology. 

If  asked  to  point  out  differences  between  the  physical 
effects  of  positive  and  negative  electrification,  we  would 
refer  to  the  positive  brush,  which  is  finer  and  much 
more  developed  than  the  negative ;  to  the  Wimshurst 
machine,  with  its  positive  brushes  on  one  side  and  nega- 
tive "beads"  on  the  other;  to  the  positive  charge  ac- 
quired by  a  clean  plate  of  zinc  when  exposed  to  ultra- 
violet light ;  to  the  ordinary  vacuum  tube  in  which 
there  is  a  violet  glow  at  the  cathode  end  or  negative  ter- 
minal ;  to  Crookes's  tubes.  X-ray  tubes  and  other  high 
vacuum  tubes,  in  which  electrified  particles,  Kelvin's 
molecular  torrent,  are  shot  out  from  the  negative  elec- 
trode with  great  velocity;  and  to  arc-lamps  using  a 
direct  current  in  which  the  plus  carbon  is  hollowed  out 
crater-like,  has  the  higher  temperature  and  wastes  away 
twice  as  fast  as  the  negative. 

The  year  1746  is  an  annus  mirabilis  in  the  history  of 
electricity,  for  it  was  in  the  January  of  that  year  that  an 
attempt  to  electrify  water  by  Musschenbroek,  of  Ley- 
den,  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  principle  of  the  elec- 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES 


87 


trostatic  condenser.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
claim  for  priority  put  forward  in  favor  of  Dean  von 
Kleist,  of  Cammin  in  Pomerania,  or  of  Cunaeus,  of  Ley- 
den,  it  is  certain  that  the  discovery  became  known 
throughout  Europe  by  the  starthng  announcement  and 
sensational  description  given  of  it  by  Musschenbroek,  a 
renowned  professor  of  a  renowned  university.  He  was 
not  only  surprised  but  terror-stricken  by  the  effect  of 
the  electric  energy  which  he  had  unconsciously  stored  up 
in  his  little  phial ;  for  after  telling  his  French  friend 
Reaumur,  the  physicist,  that  he  felt  the  commotion  in 
his  arms,  shoulders  and  chest,  he  added  that  he  would 
not  take  another  shock  for  the  whole  kingdom  of  France ! 
a  resolution  destined  to  be  broken,  like  so  many  others 
before  and  since. 

Very  different  was  the  sentiment  of  Bose,  Professor 
of  Physics  in  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  who  is  cred- 
ited with  saying  that  he  would  like  to  die 
by  the  electric  shock,  that  he  might  live 
in  the  memoirs  of  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences. 

The  Ley  den  jar  became  at  once  the 
scientific  curiosity  and  universal  topic 
of  discussion  of  the  time ;  and  not  only 
was  it  the  curiosity,  but  also  the  crux 
of  the  day,  puzzling  investigators,  per- 
plexing philosophers  and  giving  rise  to 
animated  controversies.  The  mystery 
was  soon  dispelled,  however,  when 
Franklin  began  in  1747  his  searching 
inquiry  into  the  electric  conditions  of  ^t^^ 
each  element  of  the  jar.  Nothing  es-  Modem  &  of  Leyden 
caped  his  subtle  mind  and  nothing  was   j^^^^^*  movable  coat- 


88  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

left  undone  by  his  deft  hand.  The  evidence  of  experi- 
ment and  the  logic  of  facts  carried  at  last  conviction 
even  with  Londoners  and  Parisians,  who  were  wont  to 
look  upon  Americans  as  mere  colonists,  who  had  neither 
time  nor  opportunity  for  scientific  pursuits,  being  obliged 
to  hew  their  way  through  virgin  forests  or  drive  the 
roving  Indian  back  from  their  frontiers  into  the  wilds 
of  the  West.  The  theory  of  the  Ley  den  jar  given  by 
Franklin  160  years  ago  has  stood  the  test  of  time.  It 
has  met  with  universal  acceptance  ;  and,  despite  our 
manifold  advances,  but  little  of  permanent  value  has 
been  added  to  it. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  follow  the  main  lines  of  this 
magnificent  research.  Franklin  electrifies,  in  the  usual 
way,  water  contained  in  a  small  flask,  complaisantly 
taking  the  shock  on  completing  the  circuit.  To  find 
where  the  charge  resides,  whether  in  the  hand  of  the 
operator,  as  some  said,  or  in  the  water,  as  others  main- 
tained, he  again  electrifies  the  water  and  pours  it  into 
another  flask,  which  fails,  however,  to  give  a  shock, 
thus  showing  that  the  charge  had  not  been  carried  over 
with  the  water.  Convinced  that  the  charge  was  still 
somewhere  in  the  first  phial,  he  carefully  poured  water 
into  it  again  ;  and  found,  to  his  intense  satisfaction,  that 
it  was  capable  of  giving  an  excellent  shock.  It  was  now 
clear  to  him  that  the  energy  of  the  charge  was  either  in 
the  hand  of  the  experimenter  or  in  the  glass  itself,  or 
in  both.  To  determine  this  nice  point,  he  proceeds  to 
construct  a  "jar'*  which  could  easily  be  taken  to  pieces. 
For  this  purpose,  he  selected  a  pane  of  glass  ;  and,  lay- 
ing it  on  the  extended  hand,  placed  a  sheet  of  lead  on 
its  upper  surface.  The  leaden  plate  was  then  electri- 
fied ;  and  when  touched  with  the  finger,  a  spark  was 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES 


seen  and  a  shock  felt.  By  the  addition  of  another  plate 
to  the  lower  surface,  the  shocking  power  of  this  simple 
condenser  was  increased.  In  this  efficient  form  he  had 
a  readily  dissectible  condenser,  which  allowed  him  to 
throw  off  and  replace  the  coatings  at  will,  and  thereby 
to  prove  beyond  cavil  that  the  seat  of  the  stored-up  elec- 
tric energy  is  not  in  the  conductors,  but  in  the  glass 
itself.  This  was  a  discovery  of  the  first  magnitude  and 
one  destined  to  associate  the  name  of  Franklin  with 
those  of  the  most  eminent  electricians  down  the  age&. 
Fig.  11  shows  the  modern  form  of  the  jar  with  movable 
coatings. 

In  the  "fulminating"  pane,  as  it  came  to  be  called, 
we  have  one  of  the  eleven  elements  of  FVanklin's  his- 
toric battery  of  1748.    It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  he 


^ 


Fig.  12 
Three  coated  panes  in  series 


Pig.  13 
Three  panes  in  parallel 


was  accustomed  to  connect  his  "panes  "  in  series  while 
charging  (Fig.  12),  but  that  he  preferred  to  join  similar 
coatings  together,  that  is,  to  couple  them  in  "parallel" 
(Fig.  13),  for  powerful  discharges.  Fig.  14  shows  three 
jars  in  "parallel." 

Later  on,  he  arranged  Leyden  jars  so  that  the  inside 
coating  of  one  could  be  hooked  to  the  outside  coating  of 
another,  the  first  of  the  series  hanging  down  from  the 
prime  conductor  of  the  machine,  while  the  last  one  was 
grounded.     * '  What  is  driven  out  of  the  tail  of  the  first, " 


^0 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


he  quaintly  says,  "serves  to  charge  the  second;  what 
is  driven  out  of  the  second  serves  to  charge  the  third, 
and  so  on. "  This  has  become  known  as  the  "  cascade  " 
method  of  charging  a  battery,  owing  to  the  flow  of  elec- 
tricity from  one  jar  to  the  next  (Fig.  15).  Electricians, 
however,  have  discarded  the  picturesque  "cascade  "  for 
the  prosaic  term  of  "series"  or  "tandem"  arrange- 
ment. 

Franklin  also  noticed  that  a  phial  cannot  be  charged 
while  standing  on  wax  or  on  glass,  or  even  while  hang- 


o- 


A _A 


xvs, 


Fig.  14 
Three  jars  in  parallel 


Fig.  15 
Three  jars  in  cascade 


ing  from  the  prime  conductor,  unless  communication  be 
formed  between  its  outer  coating  and  the  floor,  the  rea- 
son given  being  that  "the  jar  will  not  suffer  a  charging 
unless  as  much  fire  can  go  out  of  it  one  way  as  is  thrown 
in  by  the  other."     (1748.) 

Following  his  very  ingenious  Philadelphia  friend  and 
co-worker,  Kinnersley,  he  varies  the  mode  of  charging 
by  electrifying  the  outside  of  the  jar  and  grounding  the 
inner  coating;  for  "the  phial  will  be  electrified  as 
strongly  if  held  by  the  hook  and  the  coating  applied  to 
the  globe  as  when  held  by  the  coating  and  the  hook 
applied  to  the  globe. ' '     ( 1748. ) 

The  globe  here  referred  to  is  the  glass  globe  of  Frank- 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  91 

lin's  frictional  machine  of  American  make,  which,  when 
rotated,  was  electrified  positively  by  contact  with  the 
hand  or  with  a  leather  rubber.  Frankhn  also  used  a 
sulphur  ball  or  "brimstone"  globe,  and  observed  that 
the  electrification  produced  on  it  differed  in  kind  from 
that  developed  on  the  glass  globe.     (1752. ) 

It  may  here  be  stated  that  the  first  to  use  a  leather 
ciishion  as  a  substitute  for  the  hand  in  the  frictional 
machine,  was  Winkler,  of  Leipzig  (1745);  the  efficiency 
of  the  rubber  was  increased  by  Canton,  of  London,  who 
covered  it  with  an  amalgam  of  tin  and  mercury  (1762). 
Bose,  of  Wittenberg,  had  previously  added  the  prime- 
conductor,  which  greatly  augmented  the  electrical  ca- 
pacity and  output  of  the  machine. 

In  1750  Franklin  imitated  the  effect  of  lightning  on 
the  compasses  of  a  ship  by  the  action  of  a  jar  discharge 
on  an  unmagnetized  steel  needle.  "By  electricity,"  he 
says,  "we have  frequently  given  polarity  to  needles  and 
reversed  it  at  pleasure." 

Similar  experiments  are  made  to-day  in  every  lec- 
ture-course on  static  electricity ;  but  the  experimenter, 
when  wise,  does  not  announce  beforehand  which  end  of 
the  needle  will  be  north  and  which  south,  as  he  is  just 
as  likely  to  be  wrong  as  right,  the  uncertainty  being 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  discharge  of  a  Leyden  jar  is 
not  a  current  of  electricity  in  one  direction,  but  rather 
a  few  sudden  rushes  or  rapid  surgings  of  electricity  to 
and  fro ;  in  other  words,  it  is  oscillatory  in  character 
instead  of  being  continuous  in  one  direction. 

Franklin  did  not  know  this  ;  although  he  made  a  very 
pertinent  remark  in  1749  when  he  likened  the  mechan- 
ical condition  of  the  glass  of  a  charged  jar  to  that  of  a 
bent  rod  or  a  stretched  spring.   "So,  a  straight  spring," 


92  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

he  says,  "when  forcibly  bent  must,  to  restore  itself, 
contract  that  side  which  in  the  bending  was  extended, 
and  extend  that  side  which  was  contracted."  Franklin 
knew,  of  course,  that  the  bent  rod,  when  released,  would 
swing  to  and  fro  a  few  times  before  settling  down  to 
its  state  of  rest ;  but  he  failed  to  see  the  analogy  be- 
tween it  and  the  strained  glass  of  the  charged  Leyden 
jar. 

It  is  to  Joseph  Henry  (1799-1878),  the  Faraday  of 
America,  that  we  owe  the  recognition  and  statement  of 
the  oscillatory  character  of  the  discharge  from  Leyden 
jars  and  condensers  generally.  He  discovered  and  pub- 
lished this  cardinal  fact  in  1842.  His  words  deserve 
recording.  ''The  discharge,  whatever  maybe  its  na- 
ture, is  not  correctly  represented  (employing  for  sim- 
plicity the  theory  of  Franklin)  by  the  single  transfer  of 
an  imponderable  fluid  from  one  side  of  the  jar  to  the 
other ;  the  phenomenon  requires  us  to  admit  the  existence 
of  a  principal  discharge  in  one  direction  and  then  several 
reflex  actions  backward  and  forward,  each  more  feeble 
than  the  preceding,  until  equilibrium  is  attained.*'^  The 
italics  are  Prof.  Henry's. 

It  is  precisely  this  oscillatory  character  of  the  spark- 
discharge  that  enables  us  to  send  out  trains  of  electric 
waves  into  the  all-pervading  ether,  and  thus  to  com- 
municate, by  ''wireless,"  with  remote  stations. 

Having  conclusively  proved  that  the  energy  of  a 
charged  condenser  resides  in  the  dielectric,  Franklin 
next  tries  to  find  whether  "the  electric  matter"  in  the 
case  of  conductors  is  limited  to  the  surface  or  whether 
it  penetrates  to  an  appreciable  depth.  To  ascertain  this, 
he  insulates  a  silver  fruit-can  and  brings  a  charged  ball,. 

1  Scientific  Writings  of  Joseph  Henry,  Vol.  I.,  p.  201. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES         93 

held  by  a  silk  thread,  into  contact  with  the  outer  sur- 
face. On  testing  after  removal,  he  found  that  the  ball 
retained  some  of  its  charge,  whilst  it  lost  all  if  allowed  to 
touch  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  Surprised  at  this  unex- 
pected difference,  he  repeated  the  experiment  again  and 
again,  only  to  find  the  ball  every  time  without  a  trace 
of  charge  after  contact  with  the  interior  of  the  vessel. 
This  perplexed  and  puzzled  him.  ' '  The  fact  is  singular, ' ' 
he  says,  "and  you  require  the  reason?  I  do  not  know 
it.  I  find  a  frank  acknowledgment  of  one's  ignorance 
is  not  only  the  easiest  way  to  get  rid  of  a  difficulty,  but 
the  likeliest  way  to  obtain  information,  and  therefore  I 
practice  it.  I  think  it  an  honest  policy.  Those  who 
affect  to  be  thought  to  know  everything,  often  remain 
long  ignorant  of  many  things  that  others  could  and 
would  instruct  them  in,  if  they  appeared  less  conceited." 

This  was  in  1755.  Cavendish  in  1773  and  Coulomb  in 
1788  independently  attacked  the  same  problem  ;  and  hav- 
ing proved  by  their  classic  experiments  that  a  static 
charge  is  limited  to  the  surface  of  conductors,  it  was 
but  a  step  to  infer  that  such  a  distribution  of  electricity 
implies  that  the  law  of  force  between  two  elements  of 
charge,  or  between  two  point-charges,  is  the  law  of  the 
inverse  square  of  the  distance. 

It  will  also  be  remembered  that  Faraday,  not  knowing 
what  had  been  accomplished  eighty  years  before  in 
Philadelphia,  used  for  one  of  his  best-known  experi- 
ments an  ice-pail,  into  which  he  lowered  an  electrified 
ball  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  exact  equality  of 
the  induced  and  the  inducing  charge.  The  similarity  of 
apparatus  and  mode  of  procedure  are  remarkable. 

In  pursuing  his  work,  Franklin  placed  a  charged  jar 
on  a  cake  of  wax  and  other  insulating  materials,  and  drew 


94  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

sparks  from  it  by  touching  successively  the  knob  and?' 
the  outer  coating,  repeating  the  process  a  great  number 
of  times  to  his  infinite  dehght.  He  next  attached  a 
brass  rod  to  the  outside,  bending  it  and  bringing  the 
other  end  close  to  the  knob  (Fig.  16)  connected  with  the 
inner  coating.  Between  these  two  he  suspended  a  leaden 
ball  by  a  silk  thread  and  found,  as  he  expected,  that^it 

1  played  to  and  fro  between  the  terminals  for 

a  considerable  time.  Observe  that  we  have 
•  here  a  definite  mass  maintained  in  a  state 
of  reciprocating  motion  by  a  series  of  elec- 
tric attractions  and  repulsions.  We  have 
in  fact  an  electro-motor,  closely  resembling 


Disrfiargeby  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^  chimes  of  Gordon,  the 
alternate  contacts  Benedictine,  1745  ;  a  mere  toy,  if  you  will, 
but  still  a  remarkable  invention.  We  repeat  the  same 
experiment  to-day  only  with  a  little  more  harmony,  by 
substituting  for  the  knobs  two  little  bells,  which  emit 
a  soft,  musical  note  when  struck  by  the  interhanging 
clapper. 

This  experiment  has  further  significance,  for,  like  Gor- 
don's chimes,  it  is  an  instance  of  the  conveyance  of  elec- 
tricity from  one  point  of  space  to  another  by  means  of  a 
material  carrier,  a  mode  of  transfer  which  has  since 
been  called  "electric  convection,"  the  full  meaning 
of  which  was  not  revealed  until  Rowland  (1848-1901), 
made  his  famous  experiment  of  1876  in  the  laboratory 
of  the  University  of  Berlin  with  a  highly-charged, 
rapidly-revolving,  ebonite  disc.  It  was  apropos  of  this 
experiment  that  the  illustrious  Clerk  Maxwell,  of  the 
University  of  Cambridge,  wrote  to  his  friend,  Professor 
Tait,  of  Edinburgh,  saying  that : 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  95 

**  The  mounted  disc  of  ebonite 

Had  whirled  before,  but  whirled  in  vain  ; 
Rowland  of  Troy,  that  doughty  knight, 

Convection  currents  did  obtain, 
In  such  a  disc,  of  power  to  v/heedle 
From  its  loved  north,  the  needle." 

We  may  here  say  that  Franklin  was  no  stranger  to 
the  work  done  by  the  electrical  pioneers  of  the  Old 
World,  his  diligent  London  friend,  Peter  Collinson, 
keeping  him  advised  by  means  of  letters,  books  and 
pamphlets,  in  which  inspiration  and  practical  hints  must 
have  been  found.  He  certainly  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  achievements  of  Dr.  Watson  and  Dr.  Bevis,  of 
London,  as  well  as  with  the  theories  and  experiments  of 
Dufay  and  Abbe  Nollet  in  Paris.  It  is  germane  to  the 
subject  to  say  that  Dr.  Bevis  used  mercury  and  iron  fil- 
ings for  the  inner  coating  of  his  jars,  as  well  as  sheet 
lead  for  both.  He  also  experimented  with  coated  panes 
of  glass  instead  of  jars.  About  this,  Franklin  wrote  to 
Collinson:  *' I  perceive  by  the  ingenious  Mr.  Watson's 
last  book,  lately  received,  that  Dr.  Bevis  had  used, 
before  we  had,  panes  of  glass  to  give  a  shock  ;  though 
till  that  book  came  to  hand,  I  thought  to  have  communi- 
cated it  to  you  as  a  novelty. "     (1748. ) 

Franklin  gave  way  to  a  little  pleasant  humor  when,  in 
1748,  he  proposed  to  wind  up  the  "electrical  season  "  by 
a  banquet  a  la  Lucullus,  to  be  given  to  a  few  of  his 
friends  and  fellow-workers,  not  in  a  sumptuously  decor- 
ated hall,  hut  al  fresco,  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill. 
"A  turkey  is  to  be  killed  for  our  dinner  by  the  electri- 
cal shock, "  he  wrote,  ' '  and  roasted  by  the  electrical  jack 
before  a  fire  kindled  by  the  electrical  bottle,  when  the 
healths  of  all  the  famous  electricians  in  England, 
H©lland,  France  and  Germany  are  to  be  drunk  in  electri- 


96  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

fied  bumpers  under  the  discharge  of  guns  fired  from  the 
electrical  battery." 

It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  such  an  elaborate 
program  was  carried  out.  Indeed  the  difficulty  of 
preparing  the  apparatus  and  getting  it  ready  for  action 
on  the  banks  of  a  river  were  formidable  enough  to  say 
the  least.  Franklin,  however,  had  a  Leyden  battery 
capable  of  doing  considerable  electrocution,  for  with  two 
jars  of  six  gallons  capacity  each,  he  knocked  six  men  to 
the  ground ;  the  same  two  jars  sufficed  to  kill  a  hen  out- 
right, whereas  it  required  five,  he  tells  us,  to  kill  a 
turkey  weighing  ten  pounds. 

The  "electrical  bumper"  was  a  wine-glass  containing 
an  allowance,  let  us  say,  of  some  favorite  brand  and 
charged  in  the  usual  way.  On  approaching  the  lips  the 
two  coatings  would  be  brought  within  striking-distance 
and  a  spark  would  take  place,  if  not  to  the  delight  of  the 
performer,  at  least  to  the  amusement  of  the  on-lookers. 
It  was  subsequently  remarked  that  guests  whose  upper 
lip  was  adorned  with  a  moustache  could  quaff  the  nectar 
with  impunity,  as  every  bristle  would  play  the  part  of  a 
filiform  lightning-rod  and  prevent  the  apprehended,  dis- 
ruptive discharge ! 

Not  quite  so  humorous  was  his  suggestion  of  a  ham- 
mock to  be  used  by  timid  people  during  an  electric 
storm:  "A  hammock  or  swinging-bed,  suspended  by 
isilk  cords  equally  distant  from  the  walls  on  every  side, 
and  from  the  ceiling  and  floor  above  and  below,  affords 
the  safest  situation  a  person  can  have  in  any  room 
whatever ;  and  which,  indeed,  may  be  deemed  quite  free 
from  danger  of  any  stroke  of  Hghtning. "     (1767. ) 

In  his  experiments  on  puncturing  bodies  by  the  spark- 
discharge,  Franklin  does  not  fail  to  notice  the  double 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES  97 

burr  produced  when  paper  is  used.^  His  words  are : 
"When  a  hole  is  struck  through  pasteboard  by  the 
electrified  jar,  if  the  surfaces  of  the  pasteboard  are  not 
confined  or  compressed,  there  will  be  a  bur  raised  all 
round  the  hole  on  both  sides  the  pasteboard,  for  the  bur 
round  the  outside  of  the  hole  is  the  effect  of  the  explo- 
sion every  way  from  the  centre  of  the  stream  and  not  an 
effect  of  direction."  (1753.)  The  spelling  is  Frank- 
lin's unreformed. 

The  to-and-fro  nature  of  the  discharge  was  thought, 
at  a  time,  to  account  satisfactorily  for  the  burr  raised  on 
each  side  of  the  pasteboard ;  but  Trowbridge,  of  Har- 
vard, has  shown  that  even  a  unidirectional  discharge, 
such  as  can  be  obtained  by  inserting  a  wet  string  or  any 
high  resistance  in  the  circuit,  would  produce  a  double 
burr,  from  which  we  infer,  confirming  Franklin,  that 
this  effect  of  the  discharge  is  caused  by  the  sudden 
expansion  of  air  within  the  paper  itself. 

By  the  year  1749,  Franklin  had  reached  the  conclusion 
that  the  lightning  of  the  skies  is  identical  with  that  of 
our  laboratories,  basing  his  belief  on  the  following  an- 
alogies which  he  enumerates  in  the  notes  or  "minutes  " 
which  he  kept  of  his  experiments:  "The  electric  fluid 
agrees  with  Hghtning  in  these  particulars  :  (1)  Giving 
light ;  (2)  color  of  the  light ;  (3)  crooked  direction  ;  (4) 
swift  motion  ;  (5)  being  conducted  by  metals  ;  (6)  crack 
or  noise  in  exploding;  (7)  rending  bodies  it  passes 
through ;  (8)  destroying  animals ;  (9)  melting  metals  ; 
(10)  firing  inflammable  substances ;  and  (11)  sulphurous 
smell." 

But  although  he  felt  the  full  force  of  the  analogical 
argument,  Franklin  knew  that  the  matter  could  not  be 

1  Frequently  referred  to  as  LuUin's  experiment. 


98  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

finally  settled  without  an  appeal  to  experiment ;  and  ac- 
cordingly he  adds:  "The  electric  fluid  is  attracted  by 
points ;  we  do  not  know  whether  this  property  is  in 
lightning.  But  since  they  agree  in  all  the  particulars 
wherein  we  can  already  compare  them,  is  it  not  proba- 
ble that  they  agree  likewise  in  this?  Let  the  experi- 
ment be  made."     (1749.) 

In  writing  to  Collinson  in  July,  1750,  he  tells  his  Lon- 
don friend  how  the  experiment  may  be  made:  "On 
the  top  of  some  high  tower  or  steeple,  place  a  kind  of 
sentry-box— big  enough  to  contain  a  man— and  an 
electrical  stand.  From  the  middle  of  the  stand  let  an 
iron  rod  rise  and  pass,  bending  out  of  the  door,  and  then 
upright  20  or  30  feet,  pointed  very  sharp  at  the  end.  If 
the  electrical  stand  be  kept  clean  and  dry,  a  man  stand- 
ing on  it,  when  such  clouds  are  passing  low,  might  be 
electrified  and  afford  sparks,  the  rod  drawing  fire  to  him 
from  the  cloud. " 

Collinson  brought  some  of  Franklin's  letters  to  the 
notice  of  fellow-members  of  the  Royal  Society  with  a 
view  to  their  insertion  in  the  Philosphical  Transactions 
of  that  learned  body  ;  but  even  his  epoch-making  letter 
to  Dr.  Mitchell,  of  London,  on  the  identity  of  lightning 
and  electricity,  was  dismissed  with  derisive  laughter. 
The  Royal  Society  made  amends  in  due  time  for  their 
contemptuous  treatment  of  the  American  philosopher  by 
electing  him  member  of  the  Society  and  by  awarding 
him  the  Copley  medal  in  1753. 

Disappointed  as  he  was,  Collinson  collected  Franklin's^ 
letters  and  published  them  under  the  title  of  New  Ex- 
periments and  Observations  on  Electricity  made  at 
Philadelphia  in  America.  The  pamphlet  appeared  in 
1751,  and  was  immediately  translated  into  French  by  M. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES         99 

d' Alibard  at  the  request  of  the  great  naturalist  Count  de 
Buffon. 

The  experiments  described  in  the  pamphlet,  and 
especially  that  of  the  pointed  conductor,  were  taken  up 
in  Paris  with  great  enthusiasm  by  de  Buffon  himself,  by 
d'Alibard,  a  botanist  of  distinction,  and  by  de  Lor,  a 
professor  of  physics.  Following  out  the  instructions 
given  by  Franklin,  they  were  all  able  to  report  success  : 
d'Alibard  on  May  10th,  de  Lor  on  May  18th,  and  de 
Buffon  on  May  19th,  1752. 

De  Buffon  erected  his  rod  on  the  tower  of  his  chateau 
at  Montbar ;  de  Lor,  over  his  house  in  Paris,  and  d'Ali- 
bard,  at  his  country  seat  at  Marly,  a  little  town  eighteen 
miles  from  Paris.  D'Alibard  was  not  at  home  on  the 
eventful  afternoon  of  May  10th ;  but  before  leaving 
Marly,  he  had  drilled  a  certain  Coiffier  in  what  he 
should  do  in  case  an  electric  storm  came  on  during  his 
absence.  Though  a  hardy  and  resolute  old  soldier  and 
proud  of  the  confidence  placed  in  him,  Coiffier  grew  al- 
armed at  the  long  and  noisy  discharges  which  he  drew 
from  the  insulated  rod  on  the  afternoon  of  May  10th. 
While  the  storm  was  still  at  its  height  he  sent  for  the 
Prior  of  the  place,  Raulet  by  name,  who  hastened  to  the 
spot,  followed  by  many  of  his  parishioners.  After  wit- 
nessing a  number  of  brilliant  and  stunning  discharges, 
the  priest  drew  up  an  account  of  the  incident  and 
sent  it,  at  once,  by  Coiffier  himself  to  d' Alibard,  who 
was  then  in  Paris.  Without  delay  d' Alibard  prepared  a 
memoir  on  the  subject  which  he  communicated  to  the 
Academie  des  Sciences  three  days  later,  viz. :  on  May 
13th.  In  the  concluding  paragraph,  the  polished  acade- 
mician pays  a  graceful  tribute  to  the  philosopher  of  the 
Western  World : 


100  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

"  It  follows  from  all  the  experiments  and  observations 
contained  in  the  present  paper,  and  more  especially 
from  the  recent  experiment  at  Marly-la-ville,  that  the 
matter  of  lightning  is,  beyond  doubt,  the  same  as  that 
of  electricity ;  it  has  become  a  reality,  and  I  believe  that 
the  more  we  realize  what  he  (Franklin)  has  pubhshed 
on  electricity,  the  more  will  we  acknowledge  the  great 
debt  which  physical  science  owes  him." 

We  may,  in  passing,  correct  the  error  of  those  who 
credit  French  physicists  with  having  originated  the  idea 
of  the  pointed  conductor.  Such  writers  should  read  the 
words  of  d'Alibard  in  the  beginning  of  his  memoir, 
where  he  says:  "En  suivant  la  route  que  M.  Franklin 
nous  a  tracee,  j'ai  obtenu  une  satisfaction  complete"  ; 
that  is,  ' '  In  following  the  way  traced  out  by  Franklin, 
I  have  met  with  complete  success."  To  Franklin,  there- 
fore, belongs  the  idea  of  the  pointed  rod  of  1750,  which 
became  the  lightning  conductor  of  subsequent  years ; 
to  the  Parisian  savants  belongs  the  great  distinction  of 
having  been  the  first  to  make  the  experiment  and  ver- 
ify the  Franklinian  view  of  the  identity  of  the  lightning 
of  our  skies  with  the  electricity  of  our  laboratories. 

Franklin  had  precise  ideas  on  the  action  of  his  pointed 
conductors,  clearly  recognizing  their  twofold  function : 
(1)  that  of  preventing  a  dangerous  rise  of  potential  by 
disarming  the  cloud  ;  and  (2)  that  of  conveying  the  dis- 
charge to  earth,  if  struck.  In  some  of  his  letters,  he 
complains  of  people  who  concentrate  their  attention  on 
the  preventive  function,  forgetting  the  other  entirely. 
"Wherever  my  opinion  is  examined  in  Europe,"  he 
wrote  in  1755,  "  nothing  is  considered  but  the  probabil- 
ity of  these  rods  preventing  a  stroke,  which  is  only  a 
part  of  the  use  I  proposed  for  them  ;  and  the  other  part, 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        101 

their  conducting  a  stroke  which  they  may  happen  not 
to  prevent,  seems  to  be  totally  forgotten,  though  of 
equal  importance  and  advantage." 

A  favorite  illustration  of  Franklin's  showing  the  dis- 
charging power  of  points,  consisted  in  insulating  a  can- 
non ball  against  which  rested  a  pellet  of  cork,  hung  by 
a  silk  thread.  On  electrifying  the  ball,  the  cork  flies 
off  and  remains  suspended  at  a  distance,  falling  back  at 
once,  as  soon  as  a  needle  is  brought  near  the  ball.  (1747. ) 
He  also  used  tassels  consisting  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  long  threads  (Fig. 
17),  and  even  cotton-fleece,  the  fila- 
ments of  which  stand  out  when  elec- 
trified, but  come  together  when  a 
pointed  rod  is  held  underneath.  He 
also  noticed  that  the  filaments  do  not 
Fig.  17  collapse  when  the  point  of  the  rod  is 

Tassel  of  long  threads  or  ■%        •   ^ 

light  strips  of  paper  covered  With  a  small  ball.  ( 1762. ) 
Franklin's  views  on  lightning-rods  met  with  some 
opposition  in  France  from  the  brilliant  Abbe  Nollet,  and 
in  England  from  Dr.  Benjamin  Wilson.  The  latter  was 
mainly  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  famous  con- 
troversy of  "Points  vs.  Knobs."  In  1772,  a  committee 
was  appointed  by  the  Royal  Society  to  consider  the  best 
means  of  protecting  the  powder-magazines  at  Purfleet 
from  lightning.  On  the  committee  with  Dr.  Wilson 
were  Henry  Cavendish,  the  distinguished  chemist  and 
physicist,  and  Sir  John  Pringle,  President  of  the  Royal 
Society.  The  report  favored  sharp  conductors  against 
blunt  ones  advocated  by  Dr.  Wilson.  Five  years  later, 
in  1777,  the  question  was  again  brought  up,  and  again 
the  new  committee  decided  in  favor  of  pointed  termi- 
nals,  convinced   "that  the  experiments  and   reasons 


102  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

made  and  alleged  to  the  contrary  by  Mr.  Wilson  were 
inconclusive." 

Dr.  Wilson,  being  a  man  of  influence,  succeeded  in 
having  his  views  taken  up  by  the  Board  of  Ordnance. 
It  has  been  remarked  that  this  controversy  would  never 
have  attracted  attention  but  for  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  effect  of  points  was  Franklin.  He  was 
an  American  and  the  dispute  with  the  colonies  was  then 
at  its  height.  The  war  of  the  Revolution  had  begun, 
and  the  British  forces  had  already  met  with  serious  re- 
verses. No  patriot  could,  therefore,  admit  any  good  in 
points.  George  III.  took  sides,  decreed  that  the  points 
on  the  royal  conductors  at  Kew  should  be  covered  with 
balls,  and  ordered  Sir  John  Pringle  to  support  Dr.  Wil- 
son. Sir  John  gave  the  dignified  answer:  "Sire,  I 
cannot  reverse  the  laws  and  operations  of  nature  "  ;  to 
which  the  King,  incensed  that  so  incompetent  a  man 
should  hold  such  an  important  office,  replied:  ''Then, 
Sir  John,  perhaps  you  had  better  resign,"  which  Sir 
John  did. 

A  wit  of  the  time  put  the  matter  epigrammatically 

when  he  wrote : 

''While  you,  great  George,  for  knowledge  hunt 
And  sharp  conductors  change  to  blunt. 

The  nation's  out  of  joint ; 
Franklin  a  wiser  course  pursues. 
And  all  your  thunder  useless  views 

By  keeping  to  the  point." 

It  was  in  connection  with  this  heated  controversy  that 
Frankhn  wrote  the  following  admirable  words : 

"I  have  never  entered  into  any  controversy  in  defence 
of  my  philosophical  opinions.  I  leave  them  to  take 
their  chance  in  the  world.  If  they  are  right,  truth  and 
experience  will  support  them ;  if  wrong,  they  ought  to 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        103 

be  refuted  and  rejected.  The  King's  changing  his 
pointed  conductors  for  hlunt  ones  is,  therefore,  a  matter 
of  small  importance  to  me." 

It  was  not  until  September,  1752,  that  Franklin  raised 
a  rod  over  his  own  house.  This  experimental  conductor 
was  made  of  iron  fitted  with  a  sharp  steel  point  and 
rising  seven  or  eight  feet  above  the  roof,  the  other  end 
being  buried  five  feet  in  the  ground.  In  order  to  avoid 
useless  personal  displacement,  Franklin,  the  economist 
of  time,  made  an  automatic  annunciator  similar  to  that 
devised  by  Gordon  in  1745,  and  described  by  Watson  in 
his  Sequel,  1746,  to  apprize  him  of  the  advent  of  a  good 
thunder-gust.  Instead  of  making  the  rod  of  one  con- 
tinuous length,  it  was  divided  on  the  staircase,  opposite 
his  chamber  door,  the  ends  being  drawn  apart  to  a  hori- 
zontal distance  of  a  few  inches.  Screwing  a  pair  of  tiny 
gongs  to  the  ends,  he  suspended  between  them  a  brass 
ball,  held  by  a  silk  thread,  to  act  as  clapper.  Whenever 
a  thundercloud  came  hovering  by,  the  bells  began  to 
ring,  thereby  summoning  the  philosopher  to  his  "labor- 
atory "  on  the  staircase. 

Franklin's  rod,  erected  over  his  house  in  the  summer 
of  1752,  was  evidently  intended  by  him  for  experimental 
rather  than  protective  purposes.  There  is  no  doubt 
whatever  in  his  mind  about  the  use  of  such  pointed  con- 
ductors for  the  protection  of  buildings  and  ships  against 
the  destructive  effects  of  lightning.  He  expressly  says, 
in  an  article  printed  in  Poor  Richard's  Almanack  for 
1753,  that  "  It  has  pleased  God  in  His  infinite  goodness 
to  mankind,  to  discover  to  them  the  means  of  securing 
their  habitations  and  other  buildings  from  mischief  by 
thunder  and  lightning.  The  method  is  this  :  provide  a 
small  iron  rod  (it  may  be  made  of  the  rod-iron  used  by 


104  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  nailers),  but  of  such  a  length,  that  one  end  bein^ 
8  ft.  or  4  ft.  in  the  moist  ground,  the  other  may  be 
6  ft.  or  8  ft.  above  the  highest  part  of  the  building. 
To  the  upper  end  of  the  rod  fasten  about  a  foot  of  brass 
wire,  the  size  of  a  common  knitting  needle,  sharpened 
to  a  fine  point ;  the  rod  may  be  secured  to  the  house  by 
a  few  small  staples.  If  the  house  or  barn  be  long,  there 
may  be  a  rod  and  point  at  each  end,  and  a  middling  wire 
along  the  ridge  from  one  to  the  other.  A  house  thus 
furnished  will  not  be  damaged  by  lightning,  it  being  at- 
tracted by  the  points  and  passing  through  the  metal  into 
the  ground  without  hurting  anything.  Vessels  also, 
having  a  sharp-pointed  rod  fixed  on  the  top  of  their 
masts,  with  a  wire  from  the  foot  of  the  rod  reaching 
down  round  one  of  the  shrouds  to  the  water,  will  not  be 
hurt  by  lightning." 

It  is  well  known,  as  Dr.  Rotch,  Director  of  the  Blue 
Hill  Observatory,  recently  pointed  out,  that  the  matter 
for  these  almanacs  was  prepared  by  Franklin  himself 
under  the  pen-name  of  Richard  Saunders.  As  the  above 
passage  appeared  in  the  almanac  for  1753,  it  is  obvious 
that  it  must  have  been  ready  sometime  toward  the  end  of 
1752.  Furthermore,  we  know  that  it  was  actually  in 
the  hands  of  the  printer  in  the  middle  of  October  of  that 
year,  for  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  Oct.  19th  says  that 
the  almanac  was  then  in  press  and  that  it  would  be  on 
sale  shortly.  Whence  it  follows  that  the  year  1752  is 
the  year  of  the  invention  of  the  lightning  rod,  and  not 
1753  or  1754  as  often  stated. 

The  instructions  given  by  Franklin  include  all  the  es- 
sentials necessary  for  the  erection  of  a  lightning  con- 
ductor. It  may  be  made  of  iron  or  copper,  flat  or  round, 
but  must  make  good  "sky"  and  good  "earth."    The 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        105- 

former  condition  is  secured  by  screwing  to  the  top  of 
the  rod  either  copper  or  platinum  terminals  ending  in 
sharp  points  ;  and  the  latter,  by  burying  the  lower  end 
deep  in  moist  soil.  Between  "sky"  and  "earth"  the 
rod  must  be  continuous. 

The  function  of  the  rod  is  twofold,  as  Franklin  well 
recognized,  preventive  and  preservative.  It  prevents 
the  stroke,  under  ordinary  conditions,  by  the  action  of 
the  points,  which  send  off  copious  streams  of  air  and 
dust  particles  electrified  oppositely  to  that  of  the  cloud. 
Even  at  a  distance,  the  dangerous  potential  of  the  cloud 
is  reduced  by  these  convection  currents  and  the  stroke 
ordinarily  averted.  It  is  clear  that  ten  points  are 
more  efficacious  than  one,  and  fifty  more  than  five. 
Hence  the  number  of  points  which  we  see  distributed 
over  the  higher  and  more  conspicuous  parts  of  a  build- 
ing, all  of  which  are  carefully  connected  with  the  light- 
ning conductor. 

However  well  a  building  may  theoretically  be  pro- 
tected, conditions  will  occasionally  arise  when  the  rod 
will  inevitably  be  struck  ;  its  preservative  function  then 
comes  into  play,  by  which  it  carries  the  energy  of  the 
disruptive  discharge  safely  to  earth. 

The  experience  of  more  than  a  century  shows  that 
the  lightning-rod  affords  protection  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases ;  but  it  would  be  at  least  a  mild  exaggeration  to 
say  that  it  never  failed,  even  when  properly  constructed. 

At  first,  the  erection  of  lightning-rods  was  opposed  in 
the  New  World  as  well  as  in  the  Old  :  some  based  their 
opposition  to  the  novelty  on  religious  grounds,  saying 
that,  as  lightning  and  thunder  are  tokens  of  divine 
wrath,  it  would  be  impious  to  interfere  in  any  way  with 
their  manifestations.    This  objection  was  met  by  saying 


106  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

that  for  a  parity  of  reason  we  should  avoid  protecting 
ourselves  against  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather. 

Others  opposed  the  use  of  the  rods  on  the  score  that 
they  invited  or  attracted  the  flash,  which  was  answered 
by  saying  that  they  attract  lightning  as  much  as  a  rain- 
pipe  attracts  a  shower,  and  no  more. 

The  death  of  Professor  Richmann,  of  the  University 
of  St.  Petersburg,  also  tended  to  retard  the  adoption  of 
the  rod  for  the  protection  of  buildings  ;  but  the  invalid- 
ity of  that  objection  became  apparent  when  the  circum- 
stances of  the  accident  became  known.  Richmann 's 
conductor  was  like  d'Alibard's  (1751),  an  experimental 
rod,  and  as  such  was  insulated  at  the  lower  end.  It 
was,  therefore,  not  a  lightning-rod  at  all,  inasmuch  as 
it  was  not  grounded.  On  August  6th,  1753,  during  a 
violent  electric  storm,  Richmann  happened  to  be  close 
to  his  exploring  rod  observing  the  indications  of  a 
roughly-made  electrometer,  when  a  sharp  thunder-clap 
was  heard,  and  at  the  same  instant  a  ball  of  fire  was 
seen  by  Richmann's  assistant  to  dart  from  the  appar- 
atus and  strike  the  head  of  the  unfortunate  Professor, 
who  fell  over  on  a  near-by  chest  and  expired  instantly. 
His  assistant  was  stunned  for  a  while.  On  regaining 
consciousness,  he  ran  to  the  aid  of  the  Professor ;  but  it 
was  too  late,  the  body  was  lifeless. 

In  recording  this  tragic  event,  Priestley,  the  historian 
of  electricity,  says  that,  "It  is  not  given  to  every  elec- 
trician to  die  in  so  glorious  a  manner  as  the  justly 
envied  Richmann. '  * 

For  one,  we  do  not  "envy"  Professor  Richmann 's 
fate,  and  we  think  that  the  phrase  "tragic  manner" 
would  better  suit  the  circumstances  of  his  death  than 
the  "glorious  manner"  of  Dr.  Priestley. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES       107 

Risks  of  a  similar  character  were  taken  by  Franklin 
in  Philadelphia,  de  Romas  in  Bordeaux,  and  d'Alibard's 
representative  at  Marly,. when  experimenting  with  kites 
and  insulated  rods ;  they  took  their  lives  in  their  hands, 
though  they  may  not  have  thought  so. 

A  few  years  ago,  Sir  William  Preece  said  that  a  man 
might  with  impunity  "clasp  a  copper  rod  an  inch  in 
diameter,  the  bottom  of  which  is  well  connected  with 
moist  earth,  while  the  top  of  it  receives  a  violent  flash 
of  lightning  ;  the  conductor  might  even  be  surrounded 
by  gunpowder  in  the  heaviest  storm  without  risk  or 
danger." 

It  is  not  on  record  that  the  English  electrician  ever 
clasped  a  lightning  conductor  or  even  stood  in  close 
proximity  to  one  during  an  electric  storm.  The  above 
statement  was  as  sensational  as  it  was  unwise  and  fool- 
hardy. The  neighborhood  of  a  rod  during  a  storm  is  a 
zone  of  danger,  owing  to  the  electrical  surgings  which 
are  set  up  in  it,  and,  as  such,  is  to  be  avoided. 

The  death  of  Richmann  caused  quite  a  sensation 
throughout  Europe,  and  naturally  the  lightning-rod  came 
in  for  severe  condemnation.  Among  the  memoirs  to 
which  the  fatality  gave  rise  was  one  written  in  the  heart 
of  Moravia  and  addressed  to  the  celebrated  Euler, 
Director  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Berlin.  The 
writer  was  a  monk  of  the  Premonstratensian  Order, 
whose  field  of  labor  was  at  Prenditz. 

In  the  year  1754,  this  country  priest  made  experi- 
ments with  lightning  conductors  on  a  scale  that  tran- 
scended anything  done  in  Paris,  London  or  Philadelphia. 
The  accompanying  illustrations  show  the  conductor 
which  Divisch  (also  Diwisch)  raised  at  Prenditz  (also 
Prenditz)  in  the  summer  of  that  year  to  demonstrate 


108 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


publicly  the  efficacy  of  such  apparatus  in  breaking  up 
thunder-clouds  and  neutralizing  the  destructive  energy 
pent  up  in  their  electric  charges.  Prenditz,  it  would 
appear,  suffered  severely  from  electric  storms ;  and  it 
was  mainly  for  the  safety  of  the  locality  that  the  good 
priest  devoted  himself  with  earnestness  to  the  study  of 
electrical  phenomena. 

As  such  a  man  deserves  to  live  in  the  memory  of 
posterity,  we  have  sought  out  the  leading  facts  of  his 
career  mainly  from  Father  Alphons  Zak,  of  Pernegg, 
in  Lower  Austria,  a  distinguished  writer  of  the  Order 
to  which  Divisch  belonged,  and  have  woven  such  details 
as  we  obtained  from  him  and  others  into  the  simple 
narrative  that  follows. 

Procopius  Divisch 
(Prokop  Diwisch)  was 
born  on  Aug.  1st,  1696, 
at  Helkowitz-Senften- 
berg  in  Bohemia.  He 
spent  his  youth  at 
Znaim,  where  he  stud- 
ied the  humanities  and 
philosophy  at  the  Col- 
lege conducted  by  the 
Jesuit  fathers  in  that 
Moravian  city.  In  1719, 
when  in  his  twenty- 
third  year,  he  decided 

to     quit     the      common  ^i«-  ^^-    P^-o^opius  Divisch  (1696-1765) 

ways  of  the  world  in  order  to  lead  the  higher  life  in  the 
Premonstratensian  Order  at  Kloster-Bruck.  At  the 
ripe  age  of  30,  Divisch  was  ordained  priest,  in  1726, 
after  which  he  taught  philosophy    and   theology   ta 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        109 

classes  of  young  aspirants  to  the  ecclesiastical  state. 
In  1733  he  went  to  the  University  of  Salzburg  and  won 
his  double  Doctorate  in  theology  and  philosophy.  Three 
years  later,  in  1736,  he  was  appointed  parish  priest  of 
Prenditz,  a  small  Moravian  town  on  the  road  to  Auster- 
litz,  since  of  Napoleonic  fame.  Here  he  remained  for 
five  years,  returning  in  1741  to  Bruck  as  Prior  of  the 
Kloster  or  monastery  situated  there.  At  the  end  of 
the  Seven  Years'  War  of  the  Austrian  succession,  he 
quitted  Bruck,  in  1745,  for  his  parish  at  Prenditz,  where 
he  spent  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  in  the  pastoral 
ministrations  of  his  sacred  office  and  in  electrical  ex- 
perimentation, of  which  he  was  very  fond. 

The  curative  property  of  the  new  agent  was  heralded 
throughout  Europe  about  this  time  in  terms  of  un- 
measured praise.  Some  of  Divisch's  ailing  parishioners, 
believing  him  to  be  an  expert  in  electrical  manipulation, 
applied  to  him  for  a  little  alleviation  of  their  woes. 
The  good-hearted  priest  did  not  turn  them  away,  but 
thought  it  desirable  to  treat  them  to  the  therapeutic 
effect  of  such  sparks  as  he  could  get  from  his  home- 
made frictional  machine.  The  results  were  various, 
depending  probably  on  the  confidence  and  imagination 
of  the  patient.  Several  remarkable  cures  seem  to  have 
been  effected  either  by  the  electric  spark  or  by  the 
persuasive  powers  of  the  operator,  or  by  both  combined, 
with  the  result  that  people  far  and  wide  were  divided 
in  their  opinion  of  the  Pastor  of  Prenditz.  Some  phys- 
icians said  that  he  was  interfering  with  their  practice, 
and  even  clergymen  found  fault  with  him  for  indulging 
in  work  which  they  thought  unsuited  to  the  cloth.  A 
general  impression,  too,  seems  to  have  prevailed  that 
his  electrical  experiments,   especially  those  with  his 


110  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

lightning  conductor,  were  likely  to  prove  harmful  in. 
more  ways  than  one. 

On  the  other  hand,  Divisch  had  admirers  in  high, 
places,  among  whom  were  the  Emperor  Francis  I.  of  Ger- 
many and  his  imperial  consort,  Maria  Theresa.  Having 
been  invited  to  Vienna,  Divisch  repaired  to  the  Austrian 
capital,  where,  with  the  aid  of  Father  Franz,  another 
electrical  devotee,  he  gave  a  demonstration  of  the  won- 
derful capability  of  the  new  form  of  energy  before  the 
grandees  of  the  empire. 

When  he  came  to  the  electrical  property  of  points,  he 
showed  their  discharging  power  in  a  very  original  way, 
one  which  must  have  made  his  assistant  uneasy  for  a 
while.  At  times,  the  machine  worked  by  Father  Franz 
gave  excellent  results  ;  at  others,  it  failed  to  generate. 
It  was  noticed  by  the  critical  few  that  when  the  machine 
failed,  Divisch  was  close  by ;  while  when  it  worked 
normally,  he  was  at  some  distance  away.  After  a 
number  of  such  alternations  of  success  and  failure 
which  sorely  perplexed  the  assistant,  himself  a  man  of 
renown  in  Vienna,  Divisch  explained  the  occurrence  by 
saying,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye,  that  the  failure 
of  the  machine  to  generate  when  he  was  close  to  it,, 
apparently  seeking  out  the  cause  of  the  breakdown,  was 
due  to  a  number  of  pin-like  conductors  which  he  had 
concealed  for  the  purpose  in  his  peruke  and  which 
neutralized  the  charge  on  the  rotating  generator  ! 

The  identity  of  the  lightning  of  our  skies  with  the 
artificial  electricity  of  our  laboratories  was  suspected 
by  many  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Englishmen  like  Hauksbee,  Hall,  Gray,  Freke,  Martin 
and  Watson ;  Germans  like  Bose  and  Winkler,  and 
Frenchmen  like  Abbe  Nollet,   had  already  published. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        111 


their  suspicions  and  conjectures  anent  the  matter. 
Franklin,  too,  had  indicated  twelve  points  of  analogy 
between  the  two,  in  1749,  in  his  letter  to  Collinson,  of 
London.  Though  he  felt  the  force  of  the  analogical 
agreement,  he  also  felt  that  the  matter  could  not  be 
definitely  settled  without  an  appeal  to  experiment.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  added  :  "The  electric  fluid  is  attracted  by 
points ;  we  do  not  know  whether  this  property  is  in 
lightning.  But  since  they  agree  in  all  the  particulars 
wherein  we  can  already  compare  them,  is  it  not  prob- 
able that  they  agree  likewise  in  this?  Let  the  experi- 
ment be  made." 

The  experiment  was 
made  by  Franklin  him- 
self by  means  of  his  kite 
two  years  later,  in  the 
summer  of  1752,  and  also 
by  the  lightning-rod 
which  he  erected  over  his 
own  house  in  the  autumn 
of  the  same  year.  Doubt- 
less Divisch  heard  of  the 
marvelous  effects  ob- 
tained from  d'Alibard's 
insulated  conductor  at 
Marly ;  at  any  rate,  he 
erected  in  an  open  space 
at  some  little  distance 
from  his  rectory  at  Prenditz,  a  lightning  conductor  130 
feet  in  height.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  illustration, 
it  bristled  with  points,  for  the  Bohemian  wizard  argued 
rightly  that  five  points  would  be  more  efficient  than 
one,  and  50  more  efficacious  than  five.   The  weird-looking 


Fig.  19  Fig.  20 

The  Divisch  lightning  conductor  (1754) 


112  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

structure  destined  to  ward  off  the  lightning  of  heaven 
had  no  less  than  325  well-distributed  points.  Lodge 
says  in  his  Lightning  Conductors:  "Points  to  the  sky- 
are  recognized  as  correct ;  only  I  wish  to  advocate  more 
of  them,  any  number  of  them,  like  barbed  wire  along 
ridges  and  eaves.  If  you  want  to  neutralize  a  thunder- 
bolt, three  points  are  not  as  effective  as  3000."  This 
was  written  in  1892 ;  nearly  140  years  before  that  date, 
we  find  a  simple  parish  priest  of  an  obscure  village  in 
Moravia  using  precisely  such  a  multiple  system  of  short, 

pointed  conductors  for  the  pro- 
tection of  life  and  property. 
This  lightning  conductor  or 
meteorological  machine,  as  Div- 
FiG  21  isch  called  it,  was  erected  by 

Set  of  pointed  rods  j^.^   ^^   Preuditz  OU  Juue  15th, 

1754.  On  the  top  of  the  rod  will  be  seen  three  light 
vanes,  which  were  added  in  the  interest  of  the  feathered 
race  in  order  to  prevent  incautious  members  from  in-^ 
curring  the  risk  of  electrocution  by  alighting  on  the 
apparatus  during  a  storm.  The  wind  whirled  the  vanes 
round  like  the  cups  of  an  anemometer,  and  thus  kept 
the  birds  away  from  the  zone  of  danger. 

Several  trials  came  to  the  electrical  Pastor,  and  from 
quarters  least  expected.  It  happened  in  the  second 
year  after  the  erection  of  the  apparatus  that  the  sum- 
mer was  unusually  dry,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
crops  failed  almost  completely.  The  farmers  of  the 
neighborhood  were  always  suspicious  of  the  strange- 
looking  mast  of  Prenditz  ;  and,  be  it  said,  that  they  were 
more  than  diffident  about  the  propriety  of  interfering 
with  the  forces  of  nature  even  under  the  plea  of  protec- 
tion, forgetting  that  they  took  great  care  to  protect 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        113 

themselves  against  heat  and  cold,  rain,  snow  and  hail. 
The  country  ladies,  no  doubt,  used  parasols  for  one  kind 
of  protection;  and  the  gentry,  umbrellas  for  another. 
Anyhow,  the  people  of  Prenditz  and  the  good  folk 
around  did  not  like  the  lofty  mast,  with  its  outstretched 
arms  and  bristling  rows  of  suspicious-looking  iron  points 
connected  to  the  ground  by  means  of  four  long,  heavy 
chains.  For  the  nonce,  they  deemed  their  Pastor  a 
queer  fellow,  who  thought  that  he  could  avert  the  anger 
of  heaven  by  the  oddest  kind  of  a  machine  which  they 
ever  laid  their  eyes  on.  It  was  argued  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  hamlets  that,  whatever  advantages  Divisch 
claimed  for  his  "machine,"  they  were  all  of  a  negative 
character.  It  'prevented  the  lightning  stroke,  he  said ; 
that  might  be,  but  they  did  not  see  the  prevention. 
What  they  did  see  and  keenly  realize  was  the  failure  of 
their  crops.  That  affected  them  very  closely  ;  and  if,  as 
they  supposed,  the  apparatus  of  Prenditz  had  anything 
to  do  with  it,  the  sooner  they  got  rid  of  the  machine  the 
better.  Divisch,  it  must  be  said,  was  hked  by  his 
people  ;  but  despite  his  popularity,  the  men  of  violence 
carried  the  day  and  the  machine  was  doomed.  Popular 
passion,  excited  by  personal  interest,  got  the  better  of 
the  consideration  due  to  the  Pastor.  On  an  appointed 
day,  a  band  of  bellicose  farmers  came  down  on  the 
village  and  wrecked  the  apparatus  which  had  cost  the 
priest  so  much  thought  and  manual  labor  and  on  which, 
knowingly  and  justly,  he  relied  for  the  protection  of  the 
homesteads  of  his  rustic  flock. 

This  recalls  a  similar  incident  of  mob  violence  which 
occurred  at  St.  Omer  in  the  north  of  France,  where  a 
manufacturer  of  that  quaint  old  town,  who  had  been  in 
America  and  seen  the  usefulness  of  lightning  conductors, 


114  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

proceeded  to  erect  one  over  his  own  house.  Hardly  was 
it  completed  before  the  populace  gathered  together ;  and, 
when  passion  was  sufficiently  aroused  by  inflammatory 
remarks  of  the  demagogues,  the  house  was  attacked 
and  the  conductor  torn  down.  The  manufacturer  com- 
plained of  the  inaction  of  the  "gardiens  de  la  paix" 
and  appealed  to  the  courts  to  uphold  his  right  to  protect 
his  home  against  lightning.  He  entrusted  his  case  to  a 
young,  brilliant  lawyer,  as  yet  unknown  to  fame,  but 
one  destined  to  achieve  unenviable  notoriety  during  the 
revolutionary  period.  This,  the  first  defender  of  the 
lightning-rod  in  a  court  of  justice,  was  Robespierre. 

The  news  of  the  untoward  event  soon  reached  the 
ears  of  the  Premonstratensian's  superiors  at  Kloster- 
Bruck ;  and,  as  they  very  wisely  considered  that  the 
duty  of  a  country  priest  is  primarily  to  attend  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  his  people,  rather  than  to  invent 
machines  for  their  protection  against  the  bolts  of  heaven, 
they  advised  him  to  yield  to  the  prejudice  of  his  people 
and  not  reconstruct  the  objectionable  apparatus. 

Father  Divisch  accepted  the  friendly  advice  of  his  su- 
periors and  obeyed  like  a  good  Premonstratensian  monk. 
The  remains  of  the  shattered  ''meteorological  machine  " 
were  sent  to  the  abbey  at  Bruck,  where  they  could  be 
seen  for  many  years  afterward.  As  a  consequence  of 
this  act  of  vandalism,  Divisch  gave  up  experimenting 
with  lightning-rods  and  with  electricity  itself.  The 
villagers  were  satisfied,  but  the  world  at  large  lost  the 
benefit  that  might  accrue  from  the  researches  on  atmos- 
pheric electricity  which  Divisch  would  have  carried  on 
during  the  remaining  nineteen  years  of  his  life. 

In  giving  up  electricity,  the  disappointed  priest  turned 
his  attention,  first,  to  acoustics  and  then,  practical  man 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES       115 

as  he  was,  to  the  construction  of  musical  instruments^ 
It  was  not  long  before  his  genius  brought  out  an 
orchestrion  of  wind  and  stringed  instruments  which  was 
played  like  an  organ  with  hands  and  feet,  and  which 
was  capable  of  130  different  combinations.  Prince 
Henry  of  Prussia  offered  a  considerable  sum  of  money 
for  the  invention,  but  Divisch  died  while  the  prelimin- 
aries of  sale  were  arranging,  and  negotiations  were 
broken  off.  The  instrument  remained  for  many  years 
in  the  abbey  at  Bruck,  where  it  was  in  daily  use  for  the 
canonical  office. 

It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  Franklin  was  also 
interested  in  musical  instruments.  He  is  credited  with 
having  devised  an  improved  form  of  glass  harmonica, 
one  of  which  he  presented  to  Queen  Marie  Antoinette. 

Despite  the  bitter  experience  of  Divisch,  the  intro- 
duction of  lightning  conductors  into  Italy  was  warmly 
advocated  some  years  later  by  Padre  Toaldo  (1719-1797), 
an  admirer  and  correspondent  of  Franklin.  It  was 
through  his  influence  and  personal  activity  that  the 
magnificent  thirteenth-century  Cathedral  of  Siena  was 
protected  with  lightning  conductors  after  having  been 
repeatedly  struck  during  the  centuries  and  seriously 
damaged.  Toaldo  published  in  1774  his  celebrated  work 
on  the  protection  of  public  edifices  and  private  buildings 
against  lightning;  it  contributed  greatly  to  reassure 
public  opinion  on  the  value  of  ''Franklinian  rods,"  as 
the  conductors  were  commonly  called. 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  Franklin  used  the  words 
"the  electric  fluid  is  attracted  by  the  points"  in  the 
passage  quoted  above,  inasmuch  as  in  the  popular  mind 
such  "attraction"  courts  rather  than  averts  danger. 
As  already  said,  the  rod  no  more  "attracts"  light- 


116  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ning  than  a  rain-pipe  attracts  a  downpour.  Franklin 
knew  very  well  the  twofold  function  of  his  rods,  the 
preventive,  by  which  they  tend  to  ward  off  the  stroke 
by  gradually  and  silently  neutralizing  the  excessive 
energy  of  the  cloud ;  and  the  other,  the  'preservative,  by 
which  they  convey  the  discharge  safely  to  earth  when 
struck.  He  even  complains  of  people  who  concentrate 
their  attention  on  the  preventive  function,  forgetting 
the  other  entirely,  adding  that,  "Wherever  my  opinion 
is  examined  in  Europe,  nothing  is  considered  but  the 
probability  of  these  rods  preventing  a  stroke,  which  is 
only  a  part  of  the  use  which  I  proposed  for  them ;  and 
the  other  part,  their  conducting  a  stroke  which  they 
may  happen  not  to  prevent,  seems  to  be  totally  for- 
gotten, though  of  equal  importance  and  advantage." 
(1755.) 

At  a  time,  it  was  customary  to  make  the  rods  rise  to 
a  considerable  height  above  the  building,  in  the  belief 
that  the  diameter  of  the  circle  of  protection  was  four 
times  the  height  of  the  rod.  Such  a  rule  was  an  arbi- 
trary one  which  facts  soon  showed  to  be  unreliable  and 
unsafe.  It  is  now  recognized  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  definite  area  of  protection. 

Were  this  a  literary  chapter,  we  would  point  out  that 
either  of  the  expressions  "electric"  storm  or  "light- 
ning" storm  is  preferable  to  thunder-storm,  because 
electricity  or  lightning  is  the  active  agent  or  principal 
feature  of  the  impressive  phenomenon.  No  one  thinks 
of  calling  a  hailstorm  by  the  descriptive  term  of  patter- 
storm  ;  yet  that  would  be  just  as  logical  and  appropriate 
an  appellative  in  one  case  as  thunder-storm  is  in  the 
other. 

Thunder-tube  is  certainly  a  startling  misnomer  applied 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        117 

to  the  long,  narrow,  glazed  tubes  formed  in  siliceous 
materials  by  the  fervid  heat  of  the  flash,  but  not  in  any 
way  by  the  sound-waves  produced  by  the  crash.  Thun- 
der-holt does  not  mean,  despite  the  common  opinion,  a 
white-hot  mass  that  accompanies  the  discharge ;  it  is 
purely  and  simply  the  flash  itself.  A  glowing  mass  that 
happens  to  come  down  in  the  track  of  the  discharge  is  a 
meteorite,  a  body  of  cosmic  not  terrestrial  origin,  a  visitor 
from  space  that  chose  the  rarefied  path  of  the  flash  for 
its  descent  to  earth. 

Again,  there  are  no  thunder-clouds  in  nature,  only 
electric  clouds  or  lightning  clouds ;  nor  is  there  ever 
thunder  in  the  air  save  when  the  lightning  breaks  from 
cloud  to  cloud,  or  leaps  from  cloud  to  earth,  or  strikes 
from  earth  to  cloud.  But  though  thunder  is  only  occa- 
sionally in  the  air,  electricity  always  is.  We  have  a 
normal  electrical  field  in  all  seasons,  times  and  places. 

Though  it  is  the  lightning  that  kills  and  not  the  thun- 
der, we  would  not,  however,  object  to  the  following  in- 
scription which  we  found  on  a  tombstone : 

"  Here  lies  (so  and  so),  oh  !  what  a  wonder. 
She  was  killed  outright  by  a  peal  of  thunder," 

because  the  suddenness  of  the  peal  may  have  given  the 
aged  lady  a  shock  from  which  her  failing  heart  was 
unable  to  recover. 

We  are  well  aware  that  such  criticism  of  technical 
terms  in  popular  use  will  have  no  reform  effect  what- 
ever ;  because  as  long  as  people  will  say  "the  sun  rises  " 
and  "the  stars  set,"  they  will  continue  to  speak  of 
thunder-clouds  and  thunder-storms,  thunder-tubes  and 
thunder-bolts.  Though  containing  an  element  of  error, 
these  expressions  have  the  sanction  of  the  centuries ; 
and  so,  they  have  come  to  stay. 


118  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Returning  to  Divisch,  that  worthy  priest  and  pioneer 
electrician  died  at  Prenditz  in  his  sixty-ninth  year,  on 
Dec.  21st,  1765,  and  was  buried  in  the  little  churchyard 
where  he  had  blessed  many  a  grave  during  the  twenty- 
five  years  of  his  ministration.  A  simple  inscription  marks 
the  place  of  his  interment,  but  a  monument  will  soon  be 
erected  to  his  memory  which  will  tell  the  passerby  where 
sleeps  the  Premonstratensian  pioneer  of  the  lightning- 
rod. 

About  three  months  before  the  erection  of  his  rod, 
i.  e.,  in  June,  1752,  the  idea  occurred  to  Franklin  that 
he  could  approach  the  region  of  clouds  just  as  well  by 
means  of  a  common  kite.  Here  are  his  words  anent 
the  novel  and  famous  experiment  with  the  "lightning 
kite": 

''Make  a  small  cross  of  two  light  strips  of  cedar,  the 
arms  so  long  as  to  reach  to  the  four  corners  of  a  large 
thin  silk  handkerchief  when  extended ;  tie  the  corners 
of  the  handkerchief  to  the  extremities  of  the  cross, 
so  you  have  the  body  of  a  kite,  which,  being  properly 
accommodated  with  a  tail,  loop  and  string,  will  rise  in 
the  air,  like  those  made  of  paper ;  but  this,  being  of 
silk,  is  fitter  to  bear  the  wet  and  wind  of  a  thunder-gust 
without  tearing.  To  the  top  of  the  upright  stick  is  to 
be  fixed  a  very  sharp-pointed  wire,  rising  a  foot  or  two 
above  the  wood.  In  the  end  of  the  twine,  next  the 
hand,  is  to  be  held  a  silk  ribbon,  and  where  the  silk  and 
cord  join  a  key  may  be  fastened.  This  kite  is  to  be 
raised  when  a  thunder-gust  appears  to  be  coming  on, 
and  the  person  who  holds  the  string  must  stand  within 
a  door  or  window,  or  under  some  cover,  so  that  the  silk 
ribbon  may  not  be  wet ;  and  care  must  be  taken  that 
the  twine  does  not  touch  the  frame  of  the  door  or  win- 
dow. As  soon  as  any  of  the  thunder-clouds  come  over 
the  kite,  the  pointed  wire  will  draw  the  electric  fire 
from  them,  and  the  kite  with  all  the  twine  will  be  elec- 
trified, and  the  loose  filaments  of  the  twine  will  stand 
out  every  way  and  be  attracted  by  an  approaching  fin- 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        119 

ger.  And  when  the  rain  has  wetted  the  kite,  so  that 
it  can  conduct  the  electric  fire  freely,  you  will  find  it 
stream  out  plentifully  from  the  key  on  the  approach  of 
your  knuckle.  At  this  key  the  phial  may  be  charged, 
and  from  electric  fire  thus  obtained  spirits  may  be  kin- 
dled and  all  the  other  electric  experiments  be  performed 
which  are  usually  done  by  the  help  of  a  rubbed  glass 
globe  or  tube,  and  thereby  the  sameness  of  the  electric 
matter  with  that  of  lightning  completely  demonstrated.  "^ 

Here  we  have  the  electric  kite  and  manner  of  using  it 
fully  described  without,  however,  any  direct  statement 
that  the  author  himself  actually  experimented  with  it, 
although  he  does  say  that  the  experiment  was  success- 
fully carried  out.  This  is  strictly  true,  but  it  may  be 
safely  contended  that  the  precautions  enumerated,  the 
observation  about  the  fibres  of  the  cord,  its  improved 
conductivity  when  wetted  by  the  rain  and  the  like,  all 
'bespeak  a  knowledge  of  practical  conditions  that  could 
be  obtained  only  by  way  of  experiment. 

But  if  Franklin  is  not  outspoken  on  the  matter,  some 
of  his  contemporaries  are.  Here  is  the  kite  incident  as 
related  in  the  Continuation  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  Franklin, 
by  Dr.  Stuber,  a  Philadelphian  and  intimate  friend  of 
the  Franklins : 

"While  Franklin  was  waiting  for  the  erection  of  a 
spire,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  might  have  more  ready 
access  to  the  region  of  clouds  by  means  of  a  common 
kite.  He  prepared  one  by  fastening  two  cross-sticks 
to  a  silk  handkerchief,  which  would  not  suffer  so  much 
from  the  rain  as  paper.  To  the  upright  stick  was  af- 
fixed an  iron  point.  The  string  was,  as  usual,  of  hemp, 
except  the  lower  end,  which  was  silk.  Where  the 
hempen  string  terminated,  a  key  was  fastened.  With 
this  apparatus,  on  the  appearance  of  a  thunder-gust 

1  Every  schoolboy  knows  that  the  electricity  which  passed  down  the  kite-string 
was  not  drawn  from  the  clouds,  but  was  due  to  their  inductive  action  on  the  pointed 
conductor  attached  to  the  kite.    Kant  calls  Franklin  the  "  Modern  Prometheus." 


120  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

approaching,  he  went  out  into  the  commons,  accom- 
panied by  his  son,  to  whom  alone  he  communicated  his 
intentions,  well  knowing  the  ridicule  which,  too  gener- 
ally for  the  interest  of  science,  awaits  unsuccessful  ex- 
periments in  philosophy.  He  placed  himself  under  a 
shed  to  avoid  the  rain.  His  kite  was  raised.  A  thunder- 
cloud passed  over  it.  No  sign  of  electricity  appeared. 
He  almost  despaired  of  success,  when  suddenly  he  ob- 
served the  loose  fibres  of  his  string  move  toward  an 
erect  position.  He  now  presented  his  knuckle  to  the 
key  and  received  a  strong  spark.  Repeated  sparks  were 
drawn  from  the  key,  the  phial  was  charged,  a  shock 
given,  and  all  the  experiments  made  which  are  usually 
performed  with  electricity." 

This  testimony  of  a  man  who  enjoyed  the  unlimited 
confidence  of  Frankhn  has  a  very  matter-of-fact  ring 
about  it ;  there  is  not  a  note  of  uncertainty,  not  a  word 
indicating  doubt  that  his  friend  and  neighbor  went  out 
to  the  fields  accompanied  by  his  robust  son,  carrying 
along  with  them  a  queer  assortment  of  electrical  imped- 
imenta. This  son,  William  by  name,  was  twenty-two 
years  of  age  at  the  time ;  and  as  he  died  in  1813,  eleven 
years  after  the  publication  of  Dr.  Stuber's  biographical 
sketch,  he  had  ample  time  to  contradict  the  kite  story 
if  instead  of  being  a  fact  it  were  a  mere  romance.  Nor 
is  this  all,  for  Dr.  Stuber's  narrative,  given  above, 
appears  textually  in  the  "Memoirs  of  the  Life  and 
Writings  of  Benjamin  Franklin,"  edited  by  his  grandson 
William  Temple  Franklin.  The  Doctor,  be  it  remarked, 
was  very  fond  of  his  grandson,  whose  ' '  faithful  service 
and  filial  attachment"  he  warmly  commends  in  several 
of  his  letters,  and  whose  regard  for  the  memory  of  the 
statesman  led  him  to  undertake  the  task  of  preparing 
his  works  for  publication.  On  page  211,  Vol.  I.,  he  tells 
us  that  "As  Dr.  Franklin  mentioned  his  electrical  dis- 
coveries only  in  a  very  transient  way,  and  as  they  are 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES       121 

of  a  most  important  and  interesting  nature,  it  has  been 
thought  that  a  short  disgression  on  the  subject  would 
be  excusable  and  not  void  of  entertainment.  For  this 
purpose  the  following  account  of  the  same,  including 
the  first  experiment  of  the  lightning  kite,  as  given  by 
Dr.  Stuber,  is  here  given." 

In  these  concluding  lines  we  have  the  testimony  of 
Franklin's  grandson  to  the  authenticity  of  the  "light- 
ning kite"  story.  Moreover,  the  account  as  given  by 
Stuber  evidently  meets  with  his  cordial  approval,  since 
he  transcribes  it  verbatim  ;  and,  as  if  to  invest  the  quo- 
tations with  unimpeachable  authority,  he  tells  us  in  the 
preface,  p.  viii.,  that  "they  deserve  entire  dependence 
because  of  the  accuracy  of  the  information  imparted." 

A  word  now  from  Priestley,  also  one  of  Franklin's 
intimate  friends.  In  his  History  of  Electricity,  fourth 
edition,  p.  171,  he  says  that  "Dr.  Franklin,  astonishing 
as  it  must  have  appeared,  continued  actually  to  bring 
lightning  from  the  heavens  by  means  of  an  electrical 
kite  which  he  raised  when  a  storm  of  thunder  was  per- 
ceived to  be  coming  on."  Then  follows  a  description 
taken  almost  word  for  word  from  Dr.  Stuber,  whom  he 
styles  "the  best  authority  on  the  subject." 

If,  perchance,  the  above  testimony  should  not  be 
deemed  conclusive  and  final,  all  lingering  doubt  must  be 
removed  by  Franklin's  own  words,  for  in  his  Auto- 
biography, after  briefly  referring  to  the  experiments 
made  in  France  with  pointed  conductors,  he  adds:  "I 
will  not  swell  this  narrative  with  an  account  of  that 
capital  experiment  (the  pointed  conductor),  nor  of  the 
infinite  pleasure  which  I  received  on  the  success  of  a 
similar  one  I  made  soon  after  with  a  kite  at  Philadel- 
phia, as  both  are  to  be  found  in  histories  of  electricity." 


122  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Here,  at  last,  we  have  Franklin's  own  word  for  it, 
that  he  made  the  kite  experiment,  and  that  he  made  it 
"soon  after'*  the  demonstration  of  his  electrical  dis- 
coveries which  M.  de  Lor  gave,  by  request,  before 
Louis  XV.  and  his  court. 

The  "lightning  kite"  is,  therefore,  not  a  myth,  as 
some  have  ventured  to  think,  having  been  fully  de- 
scribed by  Franklin  in  his  letter  to  Peter  Collinson, 
dated  October  19th,  1752,  and  having  been  made  by  him 
some  time  in  June  of  the  same  year. 

We  have  now  to  see  whether  Franklin  was  antici- 
pated in  the  idea  of  the  kite  or  in  its  use  for  electrical 
purposes.  There  are  some  who  hold  that  he  was 
anticipated  by  M.  de  Romas  as  to  the  idea,  but  not 
the  actual  experiment ;  while  others  credit  the  French 
magistrate  with  both.  Let  us  examine  the  evidence 
which  there  is  for  these  opinions. 

M.  de  Romas  lived  in  Nerac,  a  small  town  some 
seventy-five  miles  south  of  Bordeaux.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  bar ;  and  at  the  time  of  the  Franklinian  furor 
in  Europe  was  a  judge  of  the  district  court.  He  took 
an  interest  in  scientific  matters  quite  unusual  for  men 
of  his  profession,  proceeding,  as  soon  as  he  had  read  of 
the  efficiency  of  pointed  conductors,  to  study  their  be- 
havior for  himself.  His  experiments  met  with  surpris- 
ing success,  and  were  as  much  admired  by  the  local 
savants  as  they  were  dreaded  by  the  common  folk. 
Letters  containing  his  observations  were  regularly  sent  to 
the  Academy  of  Bordeaux,  where  they  were  read  with 
lively  interest  on  account  of  their  character  and  novelty. 
From  the  published  Actes  of  that  body  we  learn  that 
the  first  kite  used  by  de  Romas  was  raised  by  him  on 
May  14th,  1753.     Disappointment,  however,  attended 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        123 

this  attempt,  no  electrical  manifestation  being  observed, 
although  rain  fell  and  wetted  the  hempen  cord.  The 
magistrate  of  Nerac  attributed  his  failure  to  the  resist- 
ance of  the  string;  and,  like  a  good  electrician,  sur- 
prisingly good  for  the  time,  determined  to  improve  its 
conductivity  by  wrapping  a  fine  copper  wire  round  its 
entire  length.  When  this  long  and  tedious  operation 
was  completed,  he  went  out  again  to  the  fields  on  a 
stormy  day,  when,  assisted  by  two  of  his  friends,  he 
raised  the  kite  and  soon  got  torrents  of  sparks  from  the 
wire-wound  cord.  This  was  on  June  7th,  1753.  The 
experiment  was  repeated  from  time  to  time,  both  for 
his  own  satisfaction  and  that  of  his  assistants  as  well 
as  for  the  entertainment  of  his  ever-growing  class  of 
admiring  spectators.  Kites  7i  ft.  long  and  3  ft.  wide 
were  raised  400  and  even  550  ft.  above  ground  when 
flashes  nine  feet  long  and  an  inch  thick  were  drawn,  so 
the  account  says,  with  the  report  of  a  pistol.  The  effect 
must  have  been  truly  spectacular.  The  kite  was  held 
by  a  silk  ribbon  fastened  to  the  end  of  the  hempen  cord. 

It  is  then  a  matter  of  history  vouched  for  by  the 
Actes  of  the  Academy  of  Bordeaux  that  May  14th,  1753, 
is  the  day  on  which  the  first  use  of  a  kite  for  electrical 
purposes  was  made  in  France  ;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  Franklin  flew  his  "lightning 
kite "  in  June,  1752,  almost  a  year  earlier.  As  far, 
then,  as  the  fact  is  concerned,  the  Philadelphia  philoso- 
pher was  not  anticipated  by  the  Justice  of  Nerac. 

From  facts  let  us  pass  to  writings.  Franklin's  letter 
to  Collinson,  in  which  he  describes  the  electric  kite,  is 
dated  October  19th,  1752,  while  that  of  M.  de  Romas,  on 
which  the  claim  for  priority  is  founded,  was  addressed 
by  him  to  the  Academy  of  Bordeaux  on  July  12th,  1752, 


124  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

three  months  earlier.  After  a  lengthy  and  interesting- 
account  of  his  experiments  with  pointed  conductors,  he 
concludes  his  communication  as  follows  : 

"C'est  la,  Monsieur,  ce  qu*  il  y  a  de  plus  important, 
car  j'auraisbien  d'autres  particularites  a  vous  communi- 
quer ;  maisma  lettre,  devenue  d'une  excessive  longueur, 
m'avertit  de  finir.  Je  me  reserve  de  mettre  au  jour  la 
derniere  (quoiquelle  nesoit  qu'un  jeu  d'enfant)  lorsque 
je  me  serai  assure  de  la  reussite  par  Texperience  que  je 
me  propose  d'en  faire  et  que  je  ne  negHgerai  pas." 

In  English  this  would  read :  **  Such,  Sir,  are  the  more 
important  points  which  I  have  to  communicate,  and  ixy 
which  many  others  might  be  added,  were  it  not  for  the 
excessive  length  of  this  letter,  which  warns  me  that  it 
is  time  to  bring  it  to  a  close.  I  will,  however,  give 
publicity  to  the  last  one  of  all  (though  it  is  only  a  child's 
plaything)  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  assured  myself  of  its 
success  by  an  experiment  which  I  have  devised  and 
which  I  shall  not  fail  to  make." 

The  words  in  brackets— "  though  it  is  only  a  child's 
plaything"— are  all  important,  for  it  is  on  them  and  on 
them  alone  that  the  claim  for  priority  has  been  put  forth 
and  maintained.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  word  kite  (ceTf- 
volant),  does  not  occur  in  the  letter,  so  that  there  can 
be  no  absolute  certainty  as  to  the  nature  of  the  jeu  d^ en- 
fant which  the  author  had  in  mind,  though  it  is  very 
likely  that  the  kite  was  meant.  In  his  Memoire  sur  les 
moyens  de  se  garantir  de  lafoudre  dan^  les  ynaisons,  he 
says,  after  describing  some  experiments  that  he  had 
made  with  pointed  rods :  "Neanmoins  tou jours  plein  du 
desir  d'augmenter  le  volume  du  feu  electricque,  il  fallut 
chercher  le  moyen  pour  y  parvenir.  En  consequence,  je 
me  plongeai  dans  de  nouvelles  meditations.    Enfin  une 


FRANKLIJSr  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        125 

demi-heure  apres,  tout  au  plus,  le  cerf- volant  des  enf ants 
se  presenta  tout  a  coup  a  mon  esprit,  et  il  me  tardait  de 
la  mettre  a  I'epreuve.  Par  malheur,  je  n'en  avals  pas 
le  temps."  In  English:  "Being  anxious  to  augment 
the  quantity  of  electric  fire,  I  began  to  think  of  some 
means  to  effect  my  purpose,  and  soon  became  quite  ab- 
sorbed with  the  subject.  Not  more  than  half  an  hour 
elapsed  before  the  idea  of  the  kite  suddenly  occurred  to 
me,  and  I  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  try  it ;  but  unfor- 
tunately I  had  not  sufficient  leisure  at  the  time."  The 
work  in  which  this  passage  occurs  was  published  at  Bor- 
deaux in  1776,  shortly  after  the  death  of  the  author.  De 
Romas  always  maintained  that  he  did  not  borrow  the  idea 
of  the  kite  from  anyone,  but  that  it  occurred  to  him  while 
pursuing  his  experiments  with  pointed  conductors. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  de  Romas  could  not  have 
been  acquainted  with  Franklin's  performance  of  June, 
1752,  when  he  sent  to  the  Bordeaux  Academy  his  letter 
of  July  12th,  of  the  same  year,  for  we  cannot  suppose 
that  in  an  age  of  sailing  vessels  such  news  would  cross 
the  Atlantic  and  reach  an  obscure  provincial  town  in  the 
southwest  of  France  in  the  space  of  a  month.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  improbable  that  a  vague  allu- 
sion to  the  electrical  use  of  a  kite  made  at  Nerac  on  July 
12th,  by  a  man  entirely  unknown  to  fame  as  was  de 
Romas,  should  be  talked  of  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill before  October  19th,  the  date  of  Franklin's  memor- 
able letter  to  Collinson.  Moreover,  the  "jeu  d' enfant'* 
allusion  as  well  as  the  very  use  of  the  kite  by  de  Romas 
failed  so  completely  to  attract  the  attention  of  scientific 
men  of  his  own  country  that  he  frequently  and  bitterly 
complained  down  to  the  end  of  his  life,  in  1776,  of  their 
persistent  neglect  of  his  claims  to  recognition. 


126  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

From  all  this,  we  conclude : 

(a)  That  Franklin's  "  lightning  kite  "  is  not  a  myth,, 
the  experiment  having  been  made  by  him  in  June,  1752, 
and  fully  described  by  him  in  a  memorable  letter  written 
to  Peter  Collinson,  of  London,  dated  October  19th  of  the 
same  year : 

(b)  That  de  Romas  independently  had  the  idea  of 
using  a  kite  for  electrical  purposes  as  early  as  July  12th, 
1752 ;  but  that  he  did  not  carry  out  his  idea  until  May 
14th,  1753 ;  and,  furthermore,  that  he  did  not  succeed  in 
getting  any  electrical  manifestations  until  June  7th, 
1753,  his  success  then  being  due,  at  least  in  part,  to  the 
clever  idea  which  he  had  of  entwining  the  cord  with  a 
fine  copper  wire.    Therefore,  suum  cuique. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  say  that  the  cardinal  and 
enduring  achievements  of  Franklin  are : 

(1)  His  rejection  of  the  two-fluid  theory  of  electricity 
and  substitution  of  the  one-fluid  theory  ;  (2)  his  coinage 
of  the  appropriate  terms  positive  and  negative,  to  denote 
an  excess  or  a  deficit  of  the  common  electric  fluid  ;  (3) 
his  explanation  of  the  Ley  den  jar,  and,  notably,  his 
recognition  of  the  paramount  role  played  by  the  glass  or 
dielectric  ;  (4)  his  experimental  demonstration  of  the 
identity  of  lightning  and  electricity  ;  and  (5)  his  inven- 
tion of  the  lightning  conductor  for  the  protection  of  life 
and  property,  together  with  his  clear  statement  of  its 
preventive  and  protective  functions. 

If  Franklin  was  well  acquainted  with  electrical  phe- 
nomena, it  is  safe  to  say  that  his  knowledge  of  human 
nature  was  wider  and  deeper  still.  This  appears  con- 
tinually in  his  Autobiography,  in  his  political  writings, 
in  business  transactions  and  diplomatic  relations. 

On  one  occasion,  while  his  re-election  as  clerk  of  the 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        127 

General  Assembly  was  pending,  a  certain  member  made 
a  long  speech  against  him.  Franklin  listened  witli 
calm,  dignified  composure ;  and  after  his  election,  instead 
of  resenting  the  opposition  of  the  offending  member,  he 
determined  that  it  would  be  better  to  disarm  his  antag- 
onism and  win  his  friendship.  For  this  purpose  he 
sent  the  assemblyman  a  courteously- worded  request  for 
the  loan  of  a  very  scarce  book  which  was  in  his  library. 
The  book  was  sent  to  Franklin,  who  returned  it  within 
a  week  with  a  note  of  thanks,  which  had  the  desired 
effect.  Commenting  on  the  event,  our  philosopher  says 
that  ''it  is  more  profitable  to  remove  than  to  resent 
inimical  proceedings." 

Some  of  Franklin's  views  on  general  political  economy 
are  tersely  set  forth  in  the  following  passage  :  "There 
seem,  in  fine,  to  be  but  three  ways  for  a  nation  to  ac- 
quire wealth.  The  first  is  by  war,  as  the  Romans  did  in 
plundering  their  conquered  neighbor ;  this  is  robbery. 
The  second  is  by  commerce,  which  is  generally  cheating. 
The  third  is  by  agriculture,  the  only  honest  way  wherein 
man  receives  a  real  increase  of  the  seed  thrown  into  the 
ground,  in  a  kind  of  continual  miracle  wrought  by  the 
hand  of  God  in  his  favour,  as  a  reward  for  his  innocent 
life  and  virtuous  industry." 

Franklin  asserts  his  religious  convictions  in  many 
passages  of  his  "Autobiography"  as  well  as  on  many 
occasions  of  his  public  life.  Shocked  by  "Tom  "  Paine's 
views  of  fundamental  religious  truths,  he  says :  "I 
have  read  your  manuscript  with  some  attention.  By 
the  argument  which  it  contains  against  a  particu- 
lar Providence,  though  you  allow  a  general  Prov- 
idence, you  strike  at  the  foundation  of  all  religion. 
For,  without  the  belief  of  a  Providence  that  takes 


128  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

-cognizance  of,  guards  and  guides,  and  may  favour  par- 
ticular persons,  there  is  no  motive  to  worship  a  Deity, 
to  fear  His  displeasure,  or  to  pray  for  His  protection. 
I  will  not  enter  into  any  discussion  of  your  principles, 
though  you  seem  to  desire  it.  At  present,  I  shall  only 
give  you  my  opinion  that,  though  your  reasonings  are 
very  subtile  and  may  prevail  with  some  readers,  you 
will  not  succeed  so  as  to  change  the  general  sentiments 
of  mankind  on  that  subject ;  and  the  consequence  of 
printing  this  piece  will  be  a  great  deal  of  odium  drawn 
upon  yourself,  mischief  to  you,  and  no  benefit  to  others. 
He  that  spits  against  the  wind,  spits  in  his  own  face." 
This  aphorism  recalls  the  ripe  wisdom  contained  in 
many  of  the  sayings  of  "Poor  Richard,"  for  Franklin 
v/as  a  deep  thinker,  shrewd  observer  and  quaint  expos- 
itor of  his  own  philosophy.  Continuing,  he  fleeces 
Paine  in  the  following  noble  words  :  "But  were  you  to 
succeed,  do  you  imagine  any  good  would  be  done  by  it? 
You  yourself  may  find  it  easy  to  live  a  virtuous  life 
without  the  assistance  afforded  by  religion ;  you  having 
a  clear  perception  of  the  advantages  of  virtue  and  the 
disadvantages  of  vice,  and  possessing  strength  of  reso- 
lution sufficient  to  enable  you  to  resist  common  tempta- 
tions. But  think  how  great  a  portion  of  mankind 
consists  of  weak  and  ignorant  men  and  women,  and  of 
inexperienced,  inconsiderate  youth  of  both  sexes,  who 
have  need  of  the  motives  of  religion  to  restrain  them 
from  vice,  to  support  them  to  virtue,  and  retain  them 
in  the  practice  of  it  till  it  becomes  habitual,  which  is 
the  great  point  for  its  security.  And  perhaps  you  are 
indebted  to  her  originally,  that  is,  to  your  religious  edu- 
cation for  the  habits  of  virtue  upon  which  you  now  justly 
value  yourself.     You  might  easily  display  your  excellent 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        129 

talents  of  reasoning  upon  a  less  hazardous  subject,  and 
thereby  obtain  a  rank  with  our  most  distinguished 
authors.  For  among  us,  it  is  not  necessary,  as  among 
the  Hottentots,  that  a  youth,  to  be  raised  into  the  com- 
pany of  men,  should  prove  his  manhood  by  beating  his 
mother." 

Franklin  concludes  this  magnificent  expression  of  his 
religious  faith  by  the  solemn  warning :  "I  would  advise 
you,  therefore,  not  to  attempt  unchaining  the  tiger,  but 
to  burn  this  piece  before  it  is  seen  by  any  other  person  ; 
whereby  you  will  save  yourself  a  great  deal  of  mortifi- 
cation by  the  enemies  it  may  raise  against  you,  and  per- 
haps a  good  deal  of  regret  and  repentance.  If  men  are 
so  wicked  with  religion,  what  would  they  be  without  it?" 

Franklin's  belief  in  the  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  res- 
urrection of  the  body  is  well  expressed  in  the  epitaph 
which  he  wrote  for  himself  in  1728,  when  in  his  twenty- 
second  year.    It  reads 

The  Body 

Of 

Benjamin  Franklin 

Printer, 

(Like  the  cover  of  an  old  book 

Its  contents  torn  out 

And  stript  of  its  lettering  and  gilding) 

Lies  here,  food  for  worms. 

But  the  work  shall  not  be  lost 

For  it  will  (as  he  believed)  appear  once  more 

In  a  new  and  more  elegant  edition 

Revised  and  corrected 

By 

The  Author. 


130  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

However,  when  the  statesman  and  philosopher  was 
laid  at  rest  beside  his  wife  in  the  Cemetery  of  Christ 
Church,  Philadelphia,  in  1790,  the  marble  slab  which 
marked  the  grave  bore  no  other  inscription  than  Frank- 
lin's name  and  the  date  of  his  death. 

Appreciating  the  great  loss  which  the  country  sus- 
tained by  the  death  of  Franklin,  Congress  ordered  a 
general  mourning  for  one  month  throughout  the  four- 
teen States  of  the  Union  ;  and  the  French  National  As- 
sembly decreed  three  days  of  public  mourning  at  the 
instance  of  Mirabeau,  who  said  in  his  address  that  "The 
genius  that  gave  freedom  to  America  and  scattered  tor- 
rents of  light  upon  Europe,  has  returned  to  the  bosom 
of  the  Divinity.  Antiquity  would  have  erected  altars 
to  that  mortal  who  for  the  advantage  of  the  human 
race,  embracing  both  heaven  and  earth  in  his  vast  mind, 
knew  how  to  subdue  both  thunder  and  tyranny." 

The  fugitive  apprentice  boy  of  1723  turned  out  to  be 
one  of  the  most  esteemed  and  eminent  Americans  of  his 
day.  Of  an  even  temper  and  well-balanced  mind,  he  was 
plain  in  dress,  simple  in  manner,  easy  of  approach  and 
friendly  to  all.  The  success  which  he  achieved  during 
his  long  career  of  eighty-five  years,  shows  what  may  be 
done  by  seizing  the  opportunities  which  come  to  every 
one,  by  concentration  of  mind,  application  to  duty  and 
tenacity  of  purpose.  He  attained  distinction  in  science, 
in  letters,  in  diplomacy ;  he  stood  for  good  government 
and  true  liberty.  His  name  is  a  household  one  in  his 
own  country,  where  monuments,  institutions  and  cities 
will  bear  it  down  to  posterity. 


FRANKLIN  AND  SOME  CONTEMPORARIES        131 

ADDENDA. 

The  Lightning  Kite. 

Fully  described  by  Franklin  in  a  letter  to  Peter 
Collinson,  of  London,  dated  October  19th,  1752. 

Stuberin  his  **  Continuation  of  the  Life  of  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, ' '  and  Priestley  in  his  ' '  History  of  Electricity, ' '  affirm 
that  Franklin  made  the  experiment  in  June,  1752. 

Franklin's  son,  William,  never  denied  the  story,  al- 
though he  figured  in  it  as  an  active  character. 

William  Temple  Franklin,  who  prepared  for  publica- 
tion his  grandfather's  works,  gives  the  kite  story  almost 
verbatim  from  Stuber. 

Finally,  Franklin  himself  states  that  he  made  the  ex- 
periment: Memoirs,  Vol.  L,  p.  164. 

Franklin  and  de  Romas. 

June,  1752 :  Franklin  raises  his  kite  in  a  field  near 
Philadelphia. 

July  12,  1752  :  Letter  of  de  Romas  to  the  Academy  of 
Bordeaux,  in  which  a  probable  reference  is  made  to  the 
kite  as  unjeu  d' enfant. 

October  19th,  1752  :  Franklin  describes  the  "lightning 
kite  "  in  a  letter  to  Peter  Collinson,  of  London. 

May  14th,  1753 :  First  use  by  de  Romas  of  the  electric 
kite  in  the  fields  around  Nerac ;  no  result. 

June  7th,  1753 :  First  success  by  de  Romas  with  his 
electric  kite. 

Pointed  Conductor. 

Suggested  by  Franklin  in  letter  to  Peter  Collinson,  of 
London,  dated  July  29th,  1750. 

D'Alibard,  following  Franklin's  instructions,  gets  tor- 
rents of  discharges  from  his  iron  rod  40  feet  high  at 
Marly,  May  10th,  1752. 


132  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

De  Lor  gets  good  results  from  his  conductor  99  feet 
high,  erected  over  his  house  in  Paris,  May  18th,  1752. 
De  Buffon  succeeds  with  his  rod  on  May  19th,  1752. 

FrankHn  erected  the  first  rod  over  his  house  in  Phila- 
delphia in  September,  1752.  It  was  made  of  iron  with  a 
sharp  steel  point  rising  seven  or  eight  feet  above  the 
roof,  the  other  end  being  sunk  five  feet  in  the  ground. 
Franklin  charged  a  Leyden  jar  from  his  rod  in  April, 
1753.  Professor  Richmann,  of  St.  Petersburg,  was  killed 
by  a  flash  from  his  apparatus  on  August  6th,  1753. 

Brother  Potamian. 


ALOISIO  GALVANI 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  133 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Galvani,  Discoverer  of  Animal  Electricity. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  often  commented  on  in  the 
history  of  medicine,  that  Harvey,  the  discoverer  of  the 
circulation  of  the  blood,  did  not  give  the  details  of  his 
discovery  to  the  public  for  some  twenty  years  after  he 
had  first  reached  it.  The  reason  for  his  delay  was  two- 
fold. With  the  characteristic  patience  of  a  real  in- 
vestigator in  science,  Harvey  wanted  to  work  out  the 
details  of  his  discovery  for  himself  before  giving  it  to 
the  public,  and  wished  to  be  sure  of  all  he  would  have 
to  say  about  it  before  committing  it  to  print.  He  had 
not,  as  had  indeed  none  of  the  really  great  discoverers 
in  science,  that  intense  desire  for  publicity  which  causes 
smaller  men  to  rush  into  print  with  their  embryonic 
discoveries,  or  oftener,  their  supposed  discoveries,  the 
moment  they  get  their  first  distant  glimpse  of  a  new 
truth  or  see  some  mirage  of  a  distant  scientific  principle, 
perhaps  already  well  known,  in  their  heated  imagina- 
tions. Small  men  squabble  about  priority  in  small  dis- 
coveries, and  rush  headlong  into  print,  lest  some  one 
should  anticipate  their  wonderful  observation.  The 
example  of  Harvey  can  scarcely  be  commended  too 
highly,  for  if  followed,  it  would  save  the  world  of 
science  a  lot  of  bother  and  obviate  the  necessity  of  tak- 
ing back  many  things  that  have  been  proclaimed  in  the 
name  of  science.    Fortunately,  it  has  been  the  rule 


134  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

among  genuine  students  of  science,  not  because  of  any- 
deliberate  imitation  of  their  great  predecessors,  but 
because  of  modest  assurance  of  the  worth  of  their  work 
and  honest  desire  to  perfect  it  before  giving  it  to  the 
world. 

Luigi,  or,  as  he  preferred  to  be  known  himself, 
Aloysio  Galvani,  for  the  young  prince  of  the  house  of 
Gonzaga  whose  canonization  made  him  St.  Aloysius  was 
his  patron  in  baptism  and  a  favorite  in  life,  presents  an 
interesting  exemplification  of  this  characteristic  trait  of 
the  really  great  discoverer  in  science,  to  wait  calmly  and 
work  faithfully  for  thorough  confirmation  of  his  views 
before  publishing  them.  His  admirable  patience  in 
reaching  the  real  significance  of  his  discovery  before 
proclaiming  the  results  of  his  investigations  is  only  a 
typical  illustration  of  the  modest  thorough  scientist  that 
he  was.  It  used  to  be  said  that  Galvani's  discovery  of 
the  twitchings  of  the  frog's  legs,  which  led  him  to  give 
himself  to  serious  investigations  into  animal  electricity, 
was  made  more  or  less  by  accident  in  1786.  His  views 
on  the  subject  of  animal  electricity  were  not  formally 
published  until  the  appearance  of  his  treatise,  De  Viribus 
Electricitatis  in  Motu  Musculari  Commentarius,  in  the 
eighth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Institute  of  Science 
of  Bologna,  published  in  1791.  This  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  only  five  years  elapsed  between  his  orig- 
inal observation  and  the  publication  of  his  views.  Even 
this  interval  may  seem  long  enough  to  our  modern 
notions  of  at  least  supposed  rapidity  of  scientific  pro- 
gress, but  we  know  now,  from  documents  in  the 
possession  of  the  Institute  of  Science  at  Bologna,  that, 
twenty  years  previous  to  the  publication  of  this 
commentary,   Galvani  was  deeply    interested   in   the 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  135 

action  of  electricity  upon  the  muscles  of  frogs,  and  was 
diligently  and  fruitfully  occupied  during  his  spare  time 
with  investigations  upon  this  subject. 

When,  in  Makers  of  Modern  Medicine,^  I  called  spec- 
ial attention  to  the  fact  that  practically  all  of  the  great- 
est discoverers  in  medicine  had  made  their  cardinal 
discovery,  or  at  least  the  far-reaching  observation  that 
opened  up  for  them  the  special  career  in  investiga- 
tion that  was  to  make  them  famous,  before  they  were 
thirty-five,  one  of  my  critics  doubted  the  assertion  and 
suggested  the  case  of  Galvani  as  a  distinct  exception. 
Ordinarily,  it  is  presumed  that  his  discovery  of  the 
twitchings  of  frogs'  legs  under  the  influence  of  electric- 
ity was  made  in  1786,  when  he  was  in  his  forty-ninth 
year.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  his  first  observa- 
tions were  made  and  his  attention  attracted  to  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  when  he  was  scarcely  more  than 
thirty.  His  career  is  indeed  a  striking  example  of  the 
earliness  in  life  at  which  a  great  man's  work  is  likely 
to  come  to  him,  and  yet  illustrates  very  aptly  the  pa- 
tience with  which  he  devotes  himself  to  it,  without 
seeking  the  idle  reputation  to  be  derived  from  imme- 
diate announcement,  if  he  really  has  the  true  spirit  of 
the  scientific  investigator. 

Galvani  began  original  work  of  a  high  order  very 
early  in  his  medical  career.  His  graduation  thesis  on 
the  human  skeleton  treated  especially  of  the  formation 
and  development  of  bone,  and  attracted  no  little  atten- 
tion. It  is  noteworthy  because  of  the  breadth  of  view 
in  it,  for  it  touches  on  the  various  questions  relative 
to  osteology,  from  the  standpoint  of  physics  and 
chemistry,  as  well  as  medicine  and  surgery.    It  was 

1  Fordham  Univeisity  Press,  1906. 


136  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

sufficient  to  obtain  for  its  author  the  place  of  lecturer 
in  anatomy  in  the  University  of  Bologna,  besides  the 
post  of  director  of  the  teaching  of  anatomy  in  the  In- 
stitute of  Sciences,  a  subsidiary  institution.  Here,  from 
the  very  beginning,  Galvani's  course  was  popular.  He 
was  not,  as  we  note  elsewhere,  a  fluent  talker,  but  he 
was  one  6t  the  first  who  introduced  experimental 
demonstrations  of  his  subject  into  his  lectures,  and  this 
made  his  teaching  very  attractive  and  drew  crowds  to 
his  university  courses. 

Galvani's  work  as  an  anatomist,  however,  was  done 
much  more  in  comparative  anatomy  than  in  the  study 
of  the  human  being.  He  selected  birds  for  the  special 
subject  of  his  first  investigations  in  the  field,  and  his 
monograph  on  the  kidneys  of  birds  attracted  wide- 
spread attention  among  the  scientists  of  Europe.  As 
the  farthest  removed  from  man  of  the  beings  that  are 
warm-blooded,  these  creatures  have  always  attracted 
particular  attention,  and,  quite  apart  from  any  interest 
in  evolution,  were  the  subject  of  special  investigation. 
Owing  to  the  facility  with  which  they  can  be  studied  in 
embryonic  stages  in  the  hatching  egg,  most  of  the 
peculiarities  of  their  structure  and  development  are 
very  well  known  now.  The  kidneys  of  the  bird  are 
especially  interesting,  because  they  represent  a  different 
phase  of  development  from  that  of  human  beings.  Gal- 
vani  had  selected,  then,  one  of  the  cardinal  or  turning- 
point  subjects  in  comparative  anatomy.  As  he  pointed 
out  very  clearly,  the  kidneys  of  birds  differ  very  much 
among  themselves,  and  the  intense  muscular  action  of 
this  creature  makes  a  large  amount  of  excretory  material, 
that  must  be  disposed  of,  and  consequently  demands 
much  more  active  kidney  function  than  occurs  in  most 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  137 

other  classes  of  animals.  Galvani  studied  every  feature 
—the  vessels,  the  nerves,  the  canals— and  almost  nec- 
essarily pointed  out  many  new  points  or  added  hitherto 
unknown  details. 

He  next  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  ear  of 
the  bird.    This  might  seem  to  be  of  little  special  inter- 
est, since  hearing  is  not  one  of  the  most  characteristic 
qualities  of  the  winged  species.     It  so  happens,  how- 
ever, that  the  semi-circular  canals  which  are  closely 
connected  with  the  auditory  apparatus  in  all  animals 
are  extremely  large  in  birds.    As  a  consequence  of  this, 
the  avian  auditory  structures  assume  an  importance  in 
comparative  anatomy  quite  like  that  of  the  kidneys  in 
the  same  species.      After  Galvani  had  completed  his 
studies,  he  found  that  he  had  been  anticipated  by  an- 
other great  Italian  anatomist  of    the    time,   Antonio 
Scarpa  (of  Scarpa's  triangle  in  human  anatomy),  who 
afterwards  became  the  Chief  Surgeon  to   Napoleon. 
Galvani  abandoned  the  idea  of  publishing  his  book  then, 
but  published  a  short  article,  in  which  he  added  much 
to  Scarpa's  details  and  conclusions.    His  additions  were 
particularly  with  regard  to  the  semi-circular  canals, 
which  are  probably  the  organ  of  direction,  the  necessity 
for  which,  in  this  species,  for  the  purpose  of  flying,  is 
so  easy  to  understand.    He  also  described  with  great 
care  the  single  ossicle  or  small  bone,  which  replaces  the 
chain  of  little  bones  that  exist  in  mammal  ears,  and 
pointed  out  that  the  shape  of  this  bone  and  its  append- 
ages enabled  it  to  fulfil,  though  single,  all  the  functions 
of  the  hammer,  the  anvil  and  the  stirrup  bones  in 
human  beings. 

Galvani's  careful  study  of  the  semi-circular  canals  of 
various  species  of  birds  can  perhaps  be  better  appre- 


138  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ciated  from  the  fact  that  he  made  it  a  point  to  measure 
their  size  exactly,  as  compared  to  the  semi-circular 
canals  of  most  other  creatures.  He  found  that  the 
semi-circular  canals  of  the  hawk,  for  instance,  were 
larger  than  the  corresponding  structures  in  man  or  even 
in  the  cow  or  the  horse.  As  these  latter  animals  are 
many  hundred  times  larger  than  the  largest  birds,  the 
special  significance  of  the  canals  in  birds  becomes  mani- 
fest. In  certain  of  the  birds,  as  he  pointed  out,  these 
structures  are  not  semi-circles,  nor  indeed  of  circular 
form  at  all,  but  take  on  much  more  the  shape  of  an 
ellipse,  and,  indeed,  sometimes  the  arc  of  curvature  of 
the  ellipse  is  quite  acute.  He  seems  to  have  had  no 
hint,  however,  of  the  function  that  we  have  in  modern 
times  assigned  to  these  structures,  that  of  presiding 
over  direction  and  equilibrium,  and  discusses  in  his 
rather  vigorous  Latin  what  the  physiological  significance 
of  them  may  be  as  regards  hearing.  He  thinks  that 
they  add  something  to  the  acuity  of  hearing,  and  would 
seem  to  imply  that  in  birds  flying  rapidly  through  the 
air,  there  was  the  necessity  for  a  more  perfect  hearing 
apparatus  than  among  other  creatures,  and  that  this 
was  the  reason  for  the  huge  development  of  their  semi- 
circular canals. 

At  this  time  the  science  of  comparative  anatomy  was 
just  beginning  to  attract  widespread  attention.  John 
Hunter,  in  London,  was  doing  a  great  work  in  this  line, 
which  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  contributors  to 
biology  and  collectors  of  important  facts  in  all  the  sci- 
ences allied  to  anatomy  and  physiology.  Galvani's 
work  on  birds,  then,  made  him  a  pioneer  in  the  biologi- 
cal sciences  that  were  to  attract  so  much  attention 
during  the  nineteenth  century.     His  experimental  work 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  139 

in  comparative  anatomy,  strange  as  it  might  seem, 
and  apparently  not  to  be  expected,  led  him  into  the  do- 
main of  electricity,  through  the  observation  of  certain 
phenomena  of  animal  electricity  and  the  effects  of  elec- 
trical currents  on  animals. 

Like  so  many  other  great  discoveries  in  science, 
Galvani's  first  attraction  to  his  subject  of  animal  elec- 
tricity is  often  said  to  have  been  the  result  of  a  happy 
accident.  Of  course  it  is  easy  to  talk  of  accidents  in 
these  cases.  Archimedes  and  his  bath  ;  the  fall  of  the 
apple  for  Newton ;  Laennec's  observation  of  the  boys 
tapping  on  a  log  in  the  courtyard  of  the  Louvre  and 
the  ready  conduction  of  sound,  from  which  he  got  his 
idea  for  the  invention  of  the  stethoscope ;  Lord  Kelvin's 
eye-glass  falling  and  showing  him  how  a  weightless 
arm  for  his  electrometer  might  be  obtained  in  a  beam  of 
light,— may  all  be  called  happy  accidents  if  you  will. 
Without  the  inventive  scientific  genius  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  them,  however,  these  accidents  would  not 
have  been  raised  to  the  higher  plane  of  important  in- 
cidents in  the  history  of  science.  These  phenomena 
had  probably  occurred  under  men's  eyes  hundreds  of 
times  before,  but  there  was  no  great  mind  ready  to 
receive  the  seeds  of  thought  suggested,  nor  to  follow 
out  the  conclusions  so  obviously  indicated.  Galvani's 
observation  of  the  twitching  of  the  muscles  of  the  frog 
under  the  influence  of  electricity,  may  be  called  one  of 
the  happy  accidents  of  scientific  development,  but  it 
was  Galvani's  own  genius  that  made  the  accident  happy. 

There  are  two  stories  told  as  to  the  method  of  the 
first  observation  in  this  matter.  Both  of  them  make 
his  wife  an  important  factor  in  the  discovery.  Accord- 
ing to  a  popular  but  less  authentic  form  of  the  history, 


140  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Galvani  was  engaged  in  preparing  some  frogs'  legs  as 
a  special  dainty  for  his  wife,  who  was  ill  and  liked  this 
delicacy  very  much.  He  thought  so  much  of  her  that 
he  was  doing  this  himself,  in  the  hope  that  she  would 
be  thus  more  readily  tempted  to  eat  them.  While  so 
engaged,  he  exposed  the  large  nerve  of  the  animal's 
hind  legs,  and  at  the  same  time  split  the  skin  covering 
the  muscles.  In  doing  this  he  touched  the  nerve  muscle 
preparation,  as  this  has  come  to  be  called,  with  the  scal- 
pel and  the  forceps  simultaneously,  with  the  result  that 
twitchings  occurred.  While  seeking  the  cause  of  these 
twitchings,  the  idea  of  animal  electricity  came  to  him. 

The  other  form  of  the  story  is  told  a  little  later  in 
Galvani 's  own  words  in  the  analysis  of  his  monograph 
on  animal  electricity.  He  does  not  mention  his  wife  in 
it,  but  there  is  a  tradition  that  she  was  present  in  the 
laboratory  when  the  phenomenon  of  the  twitching  of  the 
frog's  legs  was  first  noticed,  and  indeed  that  it  was  she 
who  called  his  attention  to  the  curious  occurrence. 

She  was  a  woman  of  well-developed  intellect,  and  her  as- 
sociation with  her  father  and  also  with  her  husband  made 
her  well-acquainted  with  the  anatomy  and  physiology 
of  the  day.  She  realized  that  what  had  occurred  was 
quite  out  of  the  ordinary.  She  is  even  said  to  have 
suggested  their  possible  connection  with  the  presence 
and  action  of  the  electric  apparatus.  Husband  and 
wife,  then,  together,  by  means  of  a  series  of  observa- 
tions determined  that,  whenever  the  apparatus  was  not 
in  use  the  phenomenon  of  the  convulsive  movements  of 
the  frog's  legs  did  not  take  place,  notwithstanding  irri- 
tation by  the  scalpel.  Whenever  the  electric  apparatus 
was  working,  however,  then  the  phenomenon  in  ques- 
tion always  took  place.    According  to  either  form  of 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  141 

the  story,  if  we  accept  the  traditions  in  the  matter,  Ma- 
dame Galvani  had  an  important  part  in  the  discovery. 

Galvani's  most  important  contribution  to  science  is 
undoubtedly  his  De  Viribus  Electricitatis  in  Motu  Mus- 
culari  Commentarius— Commentary  on  the  Forces  of 
Electricity  in  Their  Relation  to  Muscular  Motion.  Like 
many  another  epoch-making  contribution  to  science,  it 
is  not  a  large  work,  but  in  his  collected  works  in  the  edition 
of  1841,  occupies  altogether  sixty-four  pages,  of  scarcely 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  words  to  the  page. 
There  are  probably  not  more  than  fifteen  thousand 
words  in  it  altogether.  It  was  published  originally  in 
the  eighth  volume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Institute  of 
Science  at  Bologna,  in  1791,  but  a  reprint  of  it,  with 
some  modifications,  was  issued  at  Modena  in  the  follow- 
ing year.  This  Modenese  edition,  published  by  the 
Societa  Typographica,  was  annotated  by  Professor 
Giovanni  Aldini,  who  also  wrote  an  accompanying  dis- 
sertation, De  Animalis  Electricae  Theoriae  Ortu  Atque 
Incrementis,  On  the  Rise  and  Development  of  the 
Theory  of  Animal  Electricity.  In  this  volume  was  also 
published  a  letter  from  Galvani  to  Professor  Carminati, 
in  Italian,  on  the  Seat  of  Animal  Electricity.  These 
two  editions  are  the  sources  to  which  we  must  turn  for 
whatever  Galvani  tried  to  make  known  with  regard  to 
animal  electricity. 

This  little  volume  consists  of  four  parts  :  the  first  of 
which  is  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  effects  of  ar- 
tificial electricity  on  muscular  motion  ;  the  second  is  on 
the  effect  of  atmospheric  electricity  on  muscular  motion  ; 
the  third  is  on  the  effect  of  animal  electricity  on  mus- 
cular motion  ;  and  the  fourth  consists  of  a  series  of 
-^conjectures  and  some  conclusions  from  his  observations. 


142  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

The  arrangement  of  the  work,  as  can  readily  be  under- 
stood from  this,  is  thoroughly  scientific.  Galvani  pro- 
ceeds from  what  was  best  known  and  most  evident  to 
what  he  knew  less  about,  trying  to  enlarge  the  bounds 
of  knowledge  and  then  suggesting  the  conclusions  that 
might  be  drawn  from  his  work  and  offering  a  number  of 
hints  as  to  the  possible  significance  of  many  of  the 
phenomena  that  might  form  suggestive  material  for 
further  experimentation  along  this  same  line.  In  spite 
of  the  f  orbiddingness  of  the  Latin  to  a  modern  scientist, 
as  a  rule,  the  little  work  is  well  worthy  of  study  because 
of  its  eminently  scientific  method  and  the  excellent 
evidence  it  affords  of  the  way  serious  students  of  sci- 
ence approached  a  scientific  thesis  before  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  first  paragraph  of  this  dissertation  is  of  such 
fundamental  significance,  because  it  represents  the  pri- 
mal work  done  in  animal  electricity,  that  it  has  seemed 
to  me  worth  while  presenting  entire.  The  original 
Latin  from  which  the  translation  is  made,  and  from 
which  a  good  idea  of  Galvani's  Latin  style  may  be  ob- 
tained, is  given  in  a  note.^ 

1  Ranam  dissecui,  atque  praeparavi  ut  in  fig.  2  Tab.  V.  eamque  in  tabula,  omnia 
mihi  alia  proponens,  in  qua  erat  mechina  electrica  fig.  1,  collocavi  ab  ejus  conductore 
penitus  sejunctam,  atque  baud  brevi  intervallo  dissitam;  dum  scalpelli  cuspidem  unus 
ex  iis,  qui  mihi  operam  dabant,  cruralibus  hujus  ranae  internis  nervis  DD  casu  vel 
leviter  admoveret,  continue  omnes  artuum  musculi  ita  contrahi  visi  sunt,  ut  in  vehe- 
mentiores  incidisse  tonicas  convulsiones  viderentur.  Eorum  vero  alter,  qui  nobis 
electricitatem  tentantibus  praesto  erat,  animadvertere  sibi  visus  est,  rem  contingere 
dum  ex  conductere  machinae  scintilla  extorqueretur  fig.  1  B.  Rei  novitatem  ille  ad- 
miratus  de  eadem  statim  me  alia  omnino  molientem  ac  mecum  ipso  cogitantem 
admonuit.  His  ego  incredibili  cum  studio,  et  cupiditate  incensus  idem  experiundi, 
et  quod  occultum  in  re  esset  in  lucem  pro  f  erendi  admovi  propterea  et  ipse  scai: 
pelli  cuspidem  uni  vel  alteri  crurali  nervo,  quo  tempore  unus  aliquis  ex  iis,  qui  aderant, 
scintillam  eliceret.  Phoenomenon  eadem  omnino  ratione  contigit;  vehement^  nimi- 
rum  contractiones  in  singulos  artum  musculos,  perinde  ac  si  tetano  praeparatum  ani- 
mal -esset  eorreptum,  eodem  ipso  temporis  momento  inducebantur,  quo  scintillae 
extorquerentur. 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  143 

"  I  had  dissected  a  frog  and  had  prepared  it,  as  in 
Figure  2  of  the  fifth  plate  (in  which  is  shown  a  nerve 
muscle  preparation) ,  and  had  placed  it  upon  a  table  on 
which  there  was  an  electric  machine,  while  I  set  about 
doing  certain  other  things.  The  frog  was  entirely 
separated  from  the  conductor  of  the  machine,  and 
indeed  was  at  no  small  distance  away  from  it.  While 
one  of  those  who  were  assisting  me  touched  lightly  and 
by  chance  the  point  of  his  scalpel  to  the  internal  crural 
nerves  of  the  frog,  suddenly  all  the  muscles  of  its  limbs 
were  seen  to  be  so  contracted  that  they  seemed  to  have 
fallen  into  tonic  convulsions.  Another  of  my  assistants, 
who  was  making  ready  to  take  up  certain  experiments 
in  electricity  with  me,  seemed  to  notice  that  this  hap- 
pened only  at  the  moment  when  a  spark  came  from  the 
conductor  of  the  machine.  He  was  struck  with  the 
novelty  of  the  phenomenon,  and  immediately  spoke  to 
me  about  it,  for  I  was  at  the  moment  occupied  with 
other  things  and  mentally  preoccupied.  I  was  at  once 
tempted  to  repeat  the  experiment,  so  as  to  make  clear 
whatever  might  be  obscure  in  it.  For  this  purpose  I 
took  up  the  scalpel  and  moved  its  point  close  to  one  or 
the  other  of  the  crural  nerves  of  the  frog,  while  at  the 
same  time  one  of  my  assistants  elicited  sparks  from  the 
electric  machine.  The  phenomenon  happened  exactly 
as  before.  Strong  contractions  took  place  in  every 
muscle  of  the  limb,  and  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
sparks  appeared,  the  animal  was  seized  as  it  were  with 
tetanus." 

Galvani  then  explains  in  detail  how  he  made  observa- 
tions on  control  frogs  at  moments  when  there  were  no 
electric  sparks,  and  decided  that  the  contact  with  the 
scalpel  was  only  effective  in  producing  twitchings  when 


144  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

there  was  a  simultaneous  electric  spark.  He  noted, 
also,  that  occasionally  the  contractions  did  not  occur,  in 
spite  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  conditions  mentioned.  He 
traced  this  to  fatigne.  He  then  proceeded  to  vary  the 
experiment  in  many  ways,  decreasing  the  size  of  the 
scalpel,  increasing  and  decreasing  the  size  of  the  electric 
machine  and  varying  the  method  of  preparation  of  the 
frog,  so  as  to  decide  just  what  the  significance  of  the 
phenomenon  was.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said 
that  this  study  shows  Galvani  as  one  of  the  most  care- 
ful of  experimentalists,  though  he  has  often  been  de- 
clared to  be  a  theorizer,  rather  than  an  observer. 

A  very  interesting  anticipation  of  Galvani 's  original 
experiment,  made  long  before  his  time  by  a  great 
naturalist,  the  story  of  which  serves  to  show  that 
discoveries  made  before  their  time,  that  is,  before  people 
are  ready  to  follow  them  up,  fail  to  attract  attention,  has 
been  called  to  my  attention  by  Brother  Potamian.  In 
the  second  volume  of  the  Dutch  Naturalist  Swammer- 
dam's  Works,  page  839,  is  to  be  found  the  following 
passage:^  "Another  experiment  that  is  at  once  very 
curious  and  suggestive  can  be  made  if  one  separates  the 

1  For  the  sake  of  those  who  might  care  to  see  how  the  great  Dutch  naturalist 
expressed  these  curious  scientific  notions  in  Latin,  the  original  text  seems  worth 
while  giving. 

"Jucundissimum  porro  juxta  ac  utilissimum  experimentum  aliud  institui  potest, 
si  quidam  e  maximis  Musculis  de  Ranae  Femore  separetur,  atque  una  cum  adhaerente 
suo  Nervo  ita  praeparetur,  ut  hie  illaesus  permaneat.  Quodsi  enim,  hoc  peracto, 
utrumaue  Musculi  hujus  Tendinem  a,  a  manibus  prehenderis,  Nenrumque  ejus  pro- 
pendentem  forsicula  aliove  quodam  instrument©  de  in  irritaveris  b ;  pristinum,  quern 
amiserat,  motum  suum  mox  recuperabit  Musculus.  Videbis  hinc  ilico  eum  contrahi,  ■ 
binasque  manus,  quae  Tendines  ejus  adtinent,  ad  se  mutuo  veluti  adducere :  prout 
olim  jam.  anno  1658,  Blustrissimo  Duci  Hetrusco,  cummaxime  regnanti,  demonstravi; 
quum  Is  immerito  sane  favore  ad  me  invisere  non  dedignaretur.  Hoc  ipsum  vero  ex- 
perimentum eodem  in  Musculo  tarn  crebro  &  diu  reiterari  potest,  donee  ulla  Nervi 
pars  illaesa  f uerit :  ut  ideo  toties  sic  ad  pristinam  contractionem  suam  lacessere 
Musculum  valeamus,  quoties  nobis  libuerit." 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  145 

largest  of  the  muscles  of  the  thigh  of  the  frog  and  so 
prepares  it  with  its  adherent  nerve  as  to  leave  it  unhurt. 
If  after  this  has  been  done  you  take  the  tendons  of  this 
muscle,  one  in  each  hand,  and  irritate  the  hanging  nerve 
by  a  little  forceps  or  other  instrument,  the  muscle  will 
recover  the  formal  motion  which  it  had  lost.  You  will 
see  at  once  that  it  contracts  and  that  there  will  be  an 
effort  as  it  were  to  bring  together  the  two  hands  which 
hold  its  tendons.  This  I  demonstrated,  in  the  year  1658, 
to  the  illustrious  Duke  of  Tuscany  then  reigning,  when 
he  was  at  the  moment  in  a  state  of  mind  that  prompted 
him  not  to  favor  me.  This  same  experiment  can  be 
repeated  with  the  same  muscle  as  often  and  for  as  long 
a  time  as  any  portion  of  the  nerve  remains  uninjured,  so 
that  we  may,  therefore,  irritate  the  muscle  to  its  former 
contraction  as  often  as  we  wish." 

As  a  foundation  classic  in  electricity,  Galvani's  De 
Viribus  Electricitatis  deserves  more  detailed  analysis. 
The  first  part  of  the  monograph  is  taken  up  with 
experiments  of  many  kinds,  with  what  may  be  called 
artificial  sources  of  electricity— the  electric  machine,  the 
Leyden  jar,  and  other  modes  of  electrical  development. 
The  second  part  treats  of  the  effects  of  atmospheric 
electricity  upon  muscular  motion,  by  which  expression 
Galvani  means  lightning,  though  he  also  observed  vari- 
ous electrical  manifestations  in  the  muscles  of  his  frogs 
when  there  was  no  actual  lightning  but  only  darkening 
of  the  heavens,  without  actual  passage  of  the  current 
flash  from  one  cloud  to  another  or  from  the  clouds  to  the 
earth.  In  this  matter,  Galvani  displayed  quite  as  much 
courage  as  patient  observation.  He  knew  the  fate  of 
Richmann,  the  Russian  scientist,  who  had  been  struck 
dead  by  a  lightning-bolt  while  making  experiments  not 


146  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

very  different,  yet  he  dared  to  place  a  lightning  con- 
ductor on  the  highest  point  of  his  house,  and  to  this 
conductor  he  attached  a  wire,  which  ran  down  to  his 
laboratory.  During  a  storm,  he  suspended  on  this 
metallic  circuit,  by  means  of  their  sciatic  nerves,  frogs' 
legs  and  the  legs  of  other  animals  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose. To  the  feet  of  the  animals  he  attached  another 
wire  sufficiently  long  to  reach  down  to  the  bottom  of  a 
well,  thus  grounding  the  circuit. 

Not  satisfied  with  this  study  of  the  influence  of 
lightning  and  large  electrical  disturbances  in  the  air 
on  the  preparation  of  the  frog  as  he  had  made  it,  Gal- 
vani  set  about  discovering  whether  even  the  slight 
differences  in  electrical  potential  which  occur  during 
the  day  in  atmospheric  electricity  might  not  give  rise, 
even  in  fair  weather,  to  certain  contractions  of  the 
frog's  muscles.  He  made  his  observations  for  many 
days  at  many  different  hours  and  under  varying  con- 
ditions of  light  and  shade,  of  heat  and  cold,  with- 
out finding  anything.  There  were  occasional  contrac- 
tions, but  they  bore  no  definite  relation  to  variations 
in  the  atmosphere,  or  the  electric  state  of  the  at- 
mosphere. Galvani  satisfied  himself  of  this  very 
thoroughly,  and  with  a  patience  and  diligence  worthy 
of  emulation  by  a  Fellow  at  a  modern  university  work- 
ing on  a  foundation  for  the  determination  of  a  partic- 
ular question. 

The  third  part  of  the  work  is  the  most  important  as  well 
as  the  longest,  and  contains  the  ideas  which  are  original 
with  Galvani,  but  which  met  most  opposition  in  his 
time  and  have  only  been  properly  appreciated  in  recent 
years.  Galvani  came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is 
such  a  thing   as    animal  electricity.     This    led   to  a 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  147 

famous  controversy  with  Volta,  in  which  their  con- 
temporaries judged  that  Galvani  had  the  worst  of  it; 
but,  as  so  often  happens,  their  successors  a  century- 
later  would  judge  that  Galvani's  views  were  more  in 
accord  with  what  we  know  at  the  present  time.  Criti- 
cism is  always  easier  than  scientific  advance,  and  in  a 
controversy  it  is  usually  the  man  who  writes  most  for- 
cibly, rather  than  the  one-  who  thinks  most  deeply,  who 
secures  the  assent  of  readers.  This  makes  controversy 
in  matters  of  science  always  unfortunate,  for  it  does 
much  more  to  retard  than  to  help  scientific  progress. 

Galvani  insists,  at  the  end  of  this  chapter  on  animal 
electricity,  that  what  he  writes  is  entirely  the  result  of 
experiment,  and  that  he  has  tried  in  every  way  to  make 
his  experiments  from  a  thoroughly  critical  standpoint. 
Those  who  repeat  his  observations  will  find  this  to  be 
true,  though  he  confesses  that  there  are  times  when 
conditions  not  well  understood  seem  to  hinder  the  re- 
sults that  he  usually  obtained. 

The  fourth  part  of  his  commentary  is  taken  up  with 
certain  conjectures,  as  he  calls  them,  and  some  conclu- 
sions from  his  work.  In  this  he  suggests  the  use  of 
electricity  for  the  cure  of  certain  nervous  diseases,  and 
especially  for  the  treatment  of  the  various  forms  of 
paralysis.  The  use  of  electricity  for  these  cases  had 
been  previously  suggested,  and  Bertholinus  had  told 
the  story  of  patients  who  were  utterly  unable  to  move 
and  who  had  recovered  after  having  been  in  the  neigh- 
borhood where  a  lightning-bolt  had  struck.  To  the 
minds  of  physicians  of  that  time,  this  must  have  seemed 
proof  positive  of  the  curative  value  of  lightning,  and, 
therefore,  of  electricity,  for  paralytic  conditions.  The 
remedy  was  heroic,  if  not  indeed  positively  risky,  but  its 


148  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

good  effect  could  not  be  doubted.  Unfortunately,  as  is 
always  true  in  medical  matters,  the  real  question  at 
issue  in  these  cases  is  not  so  much  the  value  of  the 
remedy  as  the  propriety  of  the  diagnosis.  Paralysis, 
in  the  sense  of  inability  to  use  one  or  more  limbs,  may 
be  due  to  many  causes.  There  are  a  number  of  forms 
of  functional  or  hysterical  palsy,  that  is,  of  incapacity 
to  use  certain  groups  of  muscles  not  dependent  on  any 
organic  lesion,  but  upon  some  curious  state  of  the  ner- 
vous system  which  may  pass  away  entirely,  and  which, 
indeed,  seem  to  be  dependent  on  the  patient's  state  of 
mind.  A  number  of  so-called  paralytic  patients  were 
cured  by  the  earthquake  in  San  Francisco ;  some  are  made 
to  do  the  apparently  impossible  every  year ;  they  get  up 
and  walk  because  of  the  shock  due  to  a  fire  or  burglars. 
We  know  now  that  the  electrical  status  of  the  individual 
is  very  carefully  protected  from  disturbance  by  external 
electrical  forces.  What  Galvani  began  has  borne  fruit  in 
diagnosis  more  than  treatment,  so  that  his  prophecy  has 
been  amply  fulfilled.  "The  application  of  this  method 
may  throw  light  on  the  subject  and  experience  may  help 
us  to  understand  it." 

Among  his  conclusions,  Galvani  hints  that  electricity 
may  not  only  proceed  from  the  clouds  during  electrical 
disturbances,  but  also  may  proceed  from  the  earth  it- 
self, and  that  living  beings  may  be  affected  by  this. 
He  suggests,  therefore,  that  plants  and  animals  may 
be  influenced  in  their  growth  and  in  their  health  by 
such  electrical  changes.  He  adds  the  suggestion  that 
there  may  be  some  intimate  connection  between  electri- 
cal phenomena  and  earthquakes,  and  suggests  that,  in 
countries  where  earthquakes  are  frequent,  observations 
should  be  made  by  means  of  frogs'  limbs  in  order  to  see 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  149 

whether  there  may  not  be  some  definite  change  in  the 
electrical  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  before  and  dur- 
ing the  earthquake.  He  seems  to  have  had  some  idea 
that  the  curious  feelings  which  at  times  come  before 
an  earthquake  to  human  beings,  though  they  seem 
even  more  noticeable  in  animals,  may  be  due  to  this 
change  in  atmospheric  electricity.^ 

We  are  rather  prone  to  think  that  news  of  scientific 
discoveries  traveled  slowly  in  Europe  in  the  eighteenth 
century.  There  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  contrary  in 
these  sketches  of  electricians,  and  Galvani's  case  is  one 
of  the  most  striking.  How  much  attention  Galvani's 
discovery  attracted  and  how  soon  definite  details  of  it 
spread  to  the  other  end  of  Europe  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that,  in  1793,  Mr.  Richard  Fowler  published 
a  small  book  at  Edinburgh  bearing  the  title,  Experi- 
ments and  Observations  Relative  to  the  Influence  Lately 
Discovered  by  M.  Galvani,  and  commonly  called  Animal 
Electricity.  2  This  little  book,  which  may  be  seen  at 
the  Surgeons  General  Library,  Washington,  and  in  the 
Library  of  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engi- 
neers, New  York,  details  a  large  number  of  experi- 
ments that  Fowler  had  made  during  the  preceding  year 
or  more,  so  that  Galvani's  work  must  have  reached 

1  With  Galvani's  attention  to  medical  electricity,  it  is  not  surprising  that  for  sev- 
eral years,  beginning  with  1873,  an  Italian  medical  journal  called  II  Galvani,  with  the 
sub-title  Giornale  di  Elettro-Idro-ed  Aero  Terapia,  was  published  at  Milan.  Its  direc- 
tors were  the  brothers  Themistocles  and  Ulysses  Santopadre.  Those  who  think  that 
an  exaggeration  of  claims  for  electrical  influence  on  various  diseases  is  of  comparatively 
recent  date,  will  do  well  to  consult  that  journal.  The  prophylaxis  of  yellow-fever  is 
suggested  by  means  of  static  electricity.  The  cause  of  yellow-fever  is  declared  to  be 
a  disturbance  of  the  electro-magnetic  conditions  of  the  body.  Everything,  from 
skin  diseases  to  uterine  inertia,  chloroform  asphyxia,  aphasia,  and  the  various  forms 
of  paralysis,  and  Basedow's  disease,  are  described  as  cured  by  electrical  treatment. 
So  does  science  become  the  nursing  mother  of  quackery. 

2  Edinburgh,  1793. 


150  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

him  within  a  few  months  after  its  pubHcation.  Fowler 
mentions  the  fact  that  Galvani  had  been  occupied  many- 
years  before  this  in  the  study  of  electric  fishes,  especially 
the  torpedo,  the  gymnotus  dectricus  and  silurus  electri- 
cits.  He  also  mentions  a  curious  observation  of  Cotugno, 
who,  a  few  years  before,  had  received  a  shock  from  a 
mouse  while  dissecting  the  little  animal,  which  makes 
it  clear  that  imagination  played  a  role  in  helping  to  the 
introduction  of  the  newer  ideas  with  regard  to  animal 
electricity.^ 

But  before  his  discovery  was  to  attract  so  much  at- 
tention, Galvani  had  to  work  it  out,  and  this  is  the 
merit  of  the  man. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say,  these  experiments  upon 
frogs  were  not  accomplished  in  a  few  days  or  a  few 
weeks.  Galvani  had  his  duties  as  Professor  of  Anatomy 
to  attend  to  besides  the  obligations  imposed  upon  him  as 
a  busy  practitioner  of  medicine  and  surgery.  At  that 
time,  it  was  not  nearly  so  much  the  custom  as  it  is  at  the 
present,  to  use  frogs  for  experiments,  with  the  idea 
that  conclusions  might  be  obtained  of  value  for  the  bio- 
logical sciences  generally,  and  especially  for  medicine. 
There  has  always  been  such  an  undercurrent  of  feeling, 
that  such  experiments  have  been  more  or  less  a  beating 
of  the  air.  Galvani  found  this  opposition  not  only  to 
his  views  with  regard  to  animal  electricity  as  enunciated 
after  experimental  demonstration,  but  also  met  with  no 
little  ridicule  because  of  the  supposed  waste  of  time  at 
occupations  that  could  not  be  expected  to  lead  to  any 

1  In  1795,  one  of  the  theses  presented  for  the  Fellowship  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons  of  Edinburgh  was  on  the  subject  of  Galvanism,  or  at  least  on  Galvani's 
work,  by  Francis  Barker,  who  signs  himself  Hibernicus,  an  evidence  of  the  fact  that 
Irishmen  often  went  to  Edinburgh  for  their  scientific  training.  This  thesis  serves 
to  show  that  Galvani's  work  was  already  attracting  the  attention  even  of  the  most 
distant  of  Western  Universities. 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  151 

practical  results.  It  was  the  custom  of  scientific  men 
to  laugh  somewhat  scornfully  at  his  patient  persistence 
in  studying  out  every  detail  of  electrical  action  on  the 
frog,  and  one  of  the  supposedly  prominent  scientists  of 
the  time  even  dubbed  him  ''the  frog  dancing  master." 
This  did  not,  however,  deter  Galvani  from  his  work, 
though  some  of  the  bitter  things  must  have  proved  cut- 
ting enough,  and  might  have  discouraged  a  smaller 
man,  less  confident  of  the  scientific  value  of  the  work 
that  he  was  doing. 

His  relations  with  his  patients— for  during  all  of  his 
career  he  continued  to  practice,  especially  surgery  and 
obstetrics— were  of  the  friendliest  character.  While 
his  distinction  as  a  professor  at  the  University  gave 
him  many  opportunities  for  practice  among  the  rich,  he 
was  always  ready  and  willing  to  help  the  poor,  and,  in- 
deed, seemed  to  feel  more  at  home  among  poor  patients 
than  in  the  society  of  the  wealthy  and  the  noble.  Even 
toward  the  end  of  his  life,  when  the  loss  of  many 
friends,  and  especially  his  wife,  made  him  retire  within 
himself  much  more  than  before,  he  continued  to  exercise 
his  professional  skill  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  though 
he  often  refused  to  take  cases  that  might  have  proved 
sources  of  considerable  gain  to  him.  Early  in  life, 
when  he  was  very  busy  between  his  professorial  work 
and  his  practice,  he  remarked  more  than  once,  on  re- 
fusing to  take  the  cases  of  wealthy  patients,  that  they 
had  the  money  with  which  to  obtain  other  physicians, 
while  the  poor  did  not,  and  he  would  prefer  to  keep 
some  time  for  his  services  to  them.  When  ailing  and 
miserable  toward  the  end  of  his  life,  he  still  continued 
his  practice,  and  was  especially  ready  to  spend  his  time 
with  the  poor.    He  was  dying  himself,  as  one  of  his 


152  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

biographers  says,  when  he  got  up  from  a  sick  bed  to 
see  a  dying  woman  who  sent  for  him. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  popular  professors  that  the 
University  of  Bologna  ever  had.  He  was  not,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  an  orator,  but  he  was  a 
born  teacher.  The  source  of  the  enthusiasm  which  he 
aroused  in  his  hearers  was  undoubtedly  his  own  love 
for  teaching  and  the  power  it  gave  him  to  express  even 
intricate  problems  in  simple,  straightforward  language. 
More  than  any  of  his  colleagues,  he  understood  that 
experiments  and  demonstrations  must  be  the  real 
groundwork  of  the  teaching  of  science.  Accordingly, 
very  few  of  his  lectures  were  given  without  the  aid  of 
these  material  helps  to  attract  attention.  Besides,  he 
was  known  to  be  one  who  delighted  to  answer  questions, 
and  was  perfectly  frank  about  the  limitations  of  his 
knowledge  whenever  there  was  no  real  answer  to  be 
given  to  a  question  that  had  been  proposed.  Though 
an  original  discoverer  of  the  first  rank,  he  was  ex- 
tremely modest,  particularly  when  talking  about  the 
details  of  his  discoveries  or  subjects  relating  to  them. 

Galvani  was  not  a  good  talker,  though  he  seems  to 
have  been  a  good  teacher.  He  had  little  of  that  facility 
which  wins  friends  easily  and  enables  a  man  to  shine 
with  a  borrowed  lustre  of  knowledge,  often  enough 
quite  superficial.  What  he  said  was  almost  sure  to  have 
a  very  serious  meaning.  While  there  is  no  doubt  that 
Galvani  was  a  genius,  in  the  sense  that  he  was  one  of 
the  precious  few  who  take  the  step  across  the  boundary 
of  the  unknown  and  make  a  path  along  which  it  is  easy 
for  others  to  follow  in  reaching  hitherto  trackless 
regions  in  human  speculation,  he  also  had  what  is  un- 
doubtedly the  main  element  in  talent,  for  he  was  pos- 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  153 

sessed  to  a  high  degree  of  the  faculty  for  hard  work. 
For  this  he  regulated  the  hours  of  his  labor  very  care- 
fully. Only  thus  could  he  have  accomplished  what  he 
did.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  teaching 
anatomy  and  obstetrics  at  the  University  of  Bologna, 
and,  surprising  as  it  may  seem,  doing  both  these  tasks 
well.  He  was  besides  accomplishing  good  work  in  com- 
parative anatomy  and  physiology  by  original  investiga- 
tions of  a  high  order.  In  spite  of  all  this,  which  would 
seem  occupation  enough  and  more  for  any  one  man,  he 
was  able  to  keep  up  a  rather  demanding  practice. 

He  did  not  have  many  friends,  but  those  whom  he 
admitted  to  his  intimacy  were  bound  to  him  with  the 
proverbial  hoops  of  steel.  With  two  men  in  Bologna  he 
spent  most  of  his  leisure.  They  were  Dr.  Julio  Csesare 
,Cingari,  a  distinguished  physician  of  the  city,  and  the 
well-known  astronomer  who  held  the  chair  of  astronomy 
at  the  University,  Francisco  Sacchetti.  With  these  he 
passed  many  a  pleasant  hour,  and  week  after  week  they 
met  at  one  another's  houses  to  discuss  scientific  ques- 
tions and  the  lighter  topics  of  the  day.  Galvani  was 
thoroughly  respected  by  all  the  members  of  the  Faculty 
at  Bologna,  though  he  did  not  seek  many  friendships,  and 
indeed  probably  would  have  more  or  less  resented  the 
intrusions  of  acquaintances,  because  of  the  time  that  it 
would  take  from  him.  He  was  a  very  retiring  man, 
caring  not  at  all  for  social  things,  and  least  of  all  for 
that  personal  fame  which  has  been  so  well  defined  as 
the  being  known  by  those  whom  one  does  not  know. 
His  happiness  in  life  came  to  him  from  his  work  and 
from  his  domestic  relations.  His  wife  was  one  of  those 
marvelous  women,  rarer  than  they  should  be,  one  is 
tempted  to  say,  who  are  enough  interested  in  their  hus- 


154  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

band's  intellectual  work  to  add  to  the  zest  of  discovery 
in  the  discussion  of  it  with  them,  and  who  yet  realize 
that  it  is  by  minimizing  the  little  worries  of  life  that 
they  can  best  help  their  husbands. 

A  very  interesting  phase  of  the  Italian  University  life 
of  that  time  is  revealed  in  two  important  incidents  of 
Galvani's  university  career.  One  of  his  professors— 
one,  by  the  way,  for  whom  he  seems  to  have  had  a  great 
deal  of  respect,  and  to  whose  lectures  he  devoted  much 
attention,  was  Laura  Caterina  Maria  Bassi,  the  dis- 
tinguished woman  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Bologna,  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  It  is  doubtless  to  her  teaching  that  Galvani 
owes  some  of  his  thorough-going  conservatism  in  philo- 
sophic speculation,  a  conservatism  that  was  of  great 
service  to  him  later  on  in  life,  in  the  midst  of  the  ultra- 
radical principles  which  became  fashionable  just  before 
and  during  the  French  Revolution.  Madame  Bassi 
seems  to  have  had  her  influence  on  him  for  good  not  only 
during  his  student  career,  but  also  later  in  life,  for  she 
was  the  wife  of  a  prominent  physician  in  Bologna,  and 
Galvani  was  often  in  social  contact  with  her  during  her 
years  of  connection  with  the  University. 

As  might,  perhaps,  be  expected,  seeing  that  his  own 
happy  domestic  life  showed  him  that  an  educated 
woman  might  be  the  center  of  intellectual  influence, 
Galvani  seems  to  have  had  no  spirit  of  opposition  to 
even  the  highest  education  for  women.  This  is  very 
well  illustrated  by  the  first  formal  lecture  in  his  course 
on  anatomy  at  the  University,  which  had  for  its  subject 
the  models  for  the  teaching  of  anatomy  that  had  been 
made  by  Madame  Manzolini.^    In  the  early  part  of  the 

1  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  two  successful  inventions  for  lessening-  the 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  155 

eighteenth  century,  Madame  Manzolini  had  been  the 
Professor  of  Anatomy  at  the  University  of  Bologna,  and 
in  order  to  make  the  teaching  of  this  difficult  subject 
easier  and  more  definite,  she  modeled  with  great  care 
and  delicate  attention  to  every  detail,  so  that  they  imi- 
tated actual  dissections  of  the  human  body  very  closely, 
a  set  of  wax  figures,  which  replaced  the  human  body  fois 
demonstration  purposes,  at  least  at  the  beginning  of  the 
anatomical  course. 

Galvani,  in  taking  up  the  work  of  lecturer  in  anat- 
omy, appreciated  how  much  such  a  set  of  models  would 
serve  to  make  the  introduction  to  anatomical  study 
easy,  yet  at  the  same  time  without  diminishing  its  exact- 
ness, and  accordingly  introduced  his  students  to  Madame 
ManzoHni's  set  of  models  in  his  very  first  lecture.  At 
the  time,  not  a  few  of  the  teachers  of  anatomy  at  the 
Italian  universities  were  inclined  to  consider  the  use  of 
these  models  as  rather  an  effeminate  proceeding.  Gal- 
vani's  lack  of  prejudice  in  the  matter  shows  the  readiness 
of  the  man  to  accept  the  best,  wherever  he  found  it, 
without  regard  to  persons  or  feelings. 

Galvani's  personal  character  was  very  pleasant,  yet 
rather  grave  and  serious.  His  panegyrist.  Professor 
Giuseppe  Venturoli,  in  the  eulogium  of  Galvani,  deliv- 
ered in  the  Public  Academy  of  the  Institute  of  Bologna 
(1802)  within  five  years  after  Galvani's  death,  says  that 
Galvani  was  far  from  that  coldness  or  lack  of  interest 
which  sometimes  characterizes  scientists  in  their  social 
relations,  and  which,  as  he  naively  says,  is  sometimes 

necessity  for  deterrent  dissecting  work  are  due  to  women— Professor  Manzolini  and 
her  wax  models,  and  AlessandraGiliani,  the  assistant  of  Mondino,  Father  of  Dissection, 
(d.  1320),  who  knew  how  "to  fill  the  veins  with  various  colored  fluids  which  would 
harden,  and  paint  these  same  vessels  and  color  them  so  naturally  that  they  brought 
iHiIondino  great  fame  and  credit."     (Old  Chronicler.) 


156  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

praised  and  sometimes  blamed  by  those  who  write  about 
them.  Another  side  of  Galvani's  character  is  more 
interesting.  He  was  ready  to  do  all  in  his  power  for  the 
poor.  He  conducted  his  obstetrical  clinic  particularly 
with  a  liberal  benevolence  and  charity  that  deserve  to 
be  mentioned.  When  it  is  considered  how  much  time 
his  teaching  and  his  charity  took  from  him,  it  is  rather 
surprising  to  find  that  he  had  enough  left  to  enable  him 
to  devote  himself  with  so  much  success  to  the  difficult 
tasks  he  set  himself  in  research  and  to  the  time-taking 
labors  of  controversy,  which  occupied  many  years  after 
the  announcement  of  his  discoveries. 

The  most  striking  proof  of  the  thorough  conscientious- 
ness with  which  he  faced  the  duties  of  life  is  to  be 
found  in  his  conduct  after  the  establishment  of  the 
so-called  Cis-Alpine  Republic  in  Italy.  This  was  a  gov- 
ernment established  merely  by  force  of  arms,  maintained 
through  French  influence,  without  the  consent  of  the 
people,  and  a  plain  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the  pre- 
vious government.  Galvani  considered  himself  bound  in 
duty  to  the  authority  under  which  he  had  lived  all  his 
previous  life  and  to  which  he  had  sworn  fealty.  When 
the  University  of  Bologna  was  reorganized  under  the 
new  government,  the  first  requirement  of  all  those  who 
were  made  professors  was  that  they  should  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new  government.  This  he 
refused  to  do.  His  motives  can  be  readily  understood, 
and  though  practically  all  the  other  professors  of  the 
University  had  taken  the  oath,  he  did  not  consider  that 
this  freed  him  from  his  conscientious  obligations  in  the 
matter. 

Accordingly  he  was  dropped  from  the  roll  of  pro- 
fessors and  deprived  of  the  never  very  large  salary 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  157 

which  he  had  obtained  from  this  chair.  On  this  sum  he 
had  practically  depended  for  his  existence,  and  he  began 
to  suffer  from  want.  While  he  had  been  a  successful 
practitioner  of  medicine,  especially  of  surgery,  he  had 
always  been  very  liberal,  and  had  spent  large  sums  of 
money  in  demonstrations  for  his  lectures  and  personal 
experimentation  and  in  materials  for  the  museums  of 
the  University.  He  began  to  suffer  from  actual  want, 
and  friends  had  to  come  to  his  assistance.  He  refused, 
however,  to  give  up  his  scruples  in  the  matter  and 
accept  the  professorship  which  was  still  open  to  him. 
Finally,  at  the  end  of  two  years,  influence  was  brought  to 
bear  on  the  new  government,  and  Galvani  was  allowed 
to  accept  his  chair  in  the  University  without  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  This  tribute  came  too  late,  how- 
ever, and  within  a  short  time  after  his  restoration  to  his 
professorship  he  died. 

Galvani's  conduct  in  this  affair  is  the  key-note  to  his 
character  and  conduct  through  life.  For  him  duty  was 
the  paramount  word,  and  success  meant  the  accomplish- 
ment of  duty.  For  getting  on  in  the  world  and  mate- 
rial rewards  he  had  no  use  unless  they  came  as  the 
consequence  of  duty  fulfilled.  His  action  in  the  matter 
of  the  University  professorship  has  of  course  been  much 
discussed  by  his  biographers. 

His  eulogist.  Professor  Venturoli,  whom  we  have 
already  quoted,  and  whose  eulogium  is  to  be  found  in 
the  complete  edition  of  Galvani's  works  issued  at  Bol- 
ogna in  1841,^  has  much  to  say  with  regard  to  Galvani's 
religious  sentiments. 

1  Opere  Edite  ed  Inedite  del  Prof essore  Luigi  Galvani  Raccolte  e  Pubblicate  Per 
Cura  Dell'Accademia  Delle  Scienze  Dell'Instituto  Di  Bologna,  Bologna  Tipografia  Di 
^Emilio  Dall'OImo.    MDCCCXLI. 


158  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

He  says  :  '  *  The  great  founder  in  electricity  was  deeply 
religious,  and  his  piety  clothed  a  heart  that  was  not  less 
affectionate  and  sensitive  to  affection  than  it  was  in- 
trepid and  courageous.  When  called  upon  to  take  the 
civic  oath  in  a  formula  involved  in  ambiguous  words,  he 
did  not  believe  that  he  ought,  on  so  serious  an  occasion, 
to  permit  himself  anything  but  the  clear  and  precise  ex- 
pression of  his  sentiments,  full  as  they  were  of  honesty 
and  rectitude.  Refusing  to  take  advantage  of  the  sug- 
gestion that  he  should  modify  the  oath  by  some  decliara- 
tion  apart  from  the  prescribed  formula,  though  it  might 
still  be  generally  understood  that  he  had  taken  the 
oath,  he  refused  constantly  to  commit  himself  to  any 
such  subterfuge.  It  is  not  our  duty  here  to  ask  whether 
his  conclusion  was  correct  or  not.  He  followed  the 
voice  of  his  conscience,  which  ever  must  be  the  standard 
of  duty,  and  it  certainly  would  have  been  a  fault  to  have 
deviated  from  it.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  this  great  man, 
deprived  of  his  position,  saw  himself,  for  an  instant  at 
least,  exposed  to  the  danger  of  ending  his  career,  deprived 
of  the  recompense  which  he  so  richly  deserved  and  to 
which  his  past  services  to  the  State  and  the  University 
had  given  him  so  just  a  title.  This  is  all  the  more  sad 
when  we  realize  that  the  vicissitudes  of  his  delicate 
health,  much  more  than  his  age,  now  rendered  such  rec- 
ompense doubly  necessary.  It  is  a  gracious  thing  to- 
recall,  however,  the  noble  firmness  with  v/hich  he  main- 
tained himself  against  so  serious  a  blow.  His  courage 
is  all  the  more  admirable  as  one  can  see  how  absolutely 
without  affectation  it  is.  He  was  not  ostentatious  in  his 
goodness,  and  did  not  permit  himself  to  be  cast  down 
by  the  unfortunate  conditions,  but  constantly  preserved 
in  the  midst  of  adverse  fortune  that  modest,  imperturb- 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ELECTRICITY  159" 

able  and  dignified  conduct  which  had  always  charac- 
terized him  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity  and  his 
glory." 

That  his  action  in  this  matter  was  very  properly 
appreciated  by  his  contemporaries,  and  that  the  moral 
influence  of  his  example  was  not  lost,  can  be  realized 
from  the  expressions  used  by  Alibert,  the  Secretary- 
General  of  the  Medical  Society  of  Emulation,  in  the 
historical  address  on  Galvani  which  he  delivered  before 
that  society  in  Paris  in  1801 : 

"Galvani  constantly  refused  to  take  the  civil  oath 
demanded  by  the  decrees  of  the  Cis- Alpine  Republic. 
Who  can  blame  him  for  having  followed  the  voice  of  his 
conscience— that  sacred,  interior  voice  which  alone  pre- 
scribes the  duties  of  man  and  which  has  preceded  all 
human  laws?  Who  could  not  praise  him  for  having 
sacrificed  all  such  exemplary  resignation,  all  the  emolu- 
ments of  his  professorship,  rather  than  violate  the 
solemn  engagements  made  under  religious  sanction?" 

In  the  same  panegyric  there  is  a  very  curiously  inter- 
esting passage  with  regard  to  Galvani's  habit  of  fre- 
quently closing  his  lectures  by  calling  attention  to  the 
complexity  yet  the  purposefulness  of  natural  things, 
and  the  inevitable  conclusion  that  they  must  have  been 
created  with  a  definite  purpose  by  a  Supreme  Being 
possessed  of  intelligence.  At  the  time  that  Alibert  wrote 
his  memoir,  it  was  the  fashion  to  consider,  at  least  in 
France,  that  Christianity  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  and 
that  while  theism  might  remain,  that  would  be  all  that 
could  be  expected  to  survive  the  crumbling  effect  of  the 
emancipation  of  man. 

He  says  :  "We  have  seen  already  what  was  Galvani' & 
zeal  and  his  love  for  the  religion  which  he  professed.. 


160  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

We  may  add  that,  in  his  public  demonstrations,  he 
never  finished  his  lectures  without  exhorting  his  pupils 
to  a  renewal  of  their  faith,  by  leading  them  always  back 
to  the  idea  of  the  eternal  Providence  which  develops, 
preserves  and  causes  life  to  flow  among  so  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  things.  I  write  now,"  he  continues, 
* '  in  the  age  of  reason,-  of  tolerance  and  of  light.  Must 
I  then  defend  Galvani  in  the  eyes  of  posterity  for  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  sentiments  that  can  spring  from 
the  nature  of  man?  No  ;  and  they  are  but  little  initiated 
in  the  saner  mechanism  of  philosophy  who  refuse  to 
recognize  the  truths  established  on  evidence  so  strong 
and  so  authentic.  Breves  haustus  in  philosophia  ad 
atheismum  ducunt,  longiores  autem  reducunt  ad  Deum— 
Small  draughts  of  philosophy  lead  to  atheism,  but 
longer  draughts  bring  one  back  to  God"— (which  may 
be  better  translated,  perhaps,  for  English  readers  by 
Pope's  well  known  lines,  **  A  little  learning  [in  philos- 
ophy] is  a  dangerous  thing ;  drink  deep  or  touch  not  the 
Pierian  spring" ). 

Galvani  has  been  honored  by  his  fellow-citizens  of 
Bologna  as  one  of  their  greatest  townsmen,  and  by  the 
University  as  one  of  her  worthiest  sons.  In  1804,  a 
medal  was  struck  in  his  honor,  on  the  reverse  of  which, 
surrounding  a  figure  of  the  genius  of  science,  were  the 
two  legends  :  ' '  Mors  mihi  vita, "  "  Death  is  life  for  me, ' ' 
and  " Spiritus  intus  alit,"  "The  spirit  works  within," 
which  were  favorite  expressions  of  the  great  scientist 
while  living,  and  are  lively  symbols  of  the  spirit  which 
animated  him.  In  1814,  a  monument  was  erected  to 
him  in  the  courtyard  of  the  University  of  Bologna.  It 
is  surmounted  by  his  bust,  made  by  the  most  distin- 
guished Bolognian  sculptor  of  the  time,  De  Maria.     On 


GALVANI  AND  ANIMAL  ^LECTmCITY  161 

the  pedestal  there  are  two  figures  in  bas-rehef ,  executed 
by  the  same  sculptor,  which  represent  religion  and 
philosophy,  the  inspiring  genius  of  Galvani's  life. 

Before  he  died,  he  asked,  as  had  his  favorite  poet 
Dante,  whose  Divina  Commedia  had  been  one  of  the 
pleasures  of  life  and  above  all  one  of  the  consolations  of 
his  times  of  adversity,  to  be  buried  in  the  humble  habit 
of  a  member  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  He  is 
said  to  have  valued  his  fellowship  with  the  sons  of  the 
"  poor  little  man  of  Assisi"  more  than  the  many  hon- 
orary fellowships  of  various  kinds  which  had  been  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  scientific  societies  all  over  Europe. 
With  him  passed  away  one  of  the  great  pioneers  of 
modern  science  and  one  of  the  most  lovable  men  in  all 
the  history  of  science.  His  death  took  place  just  before 
the  close  of  the  eighteen  century,  Dec.  4,  1798,  but  his 
work  was  destined  to  be  one  of  the  harbingers  of  a 
great  period  of  electrical  development. 


162  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  V. 

VoLTA  THE  Founder  of  Electrical  Science. 

Up  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  discoverers 
in  electrical  science  had  usually  been  students  of  science 
in  other  departments,  whose  attention  to  electricity  had 
been  attracted,  in  passing  as  it  were.  Occasionally, 
indeed,  they  had  been  only  interested  amateurs,  inquis- 
itive as  to  the  curious  phenomena  of  magnetism.  It 
is  surprising  how  many  of  these  pioneers  in  electricity 
were  clergymen,  though  that  fact  is  seldom  realized. 
It  can  be  seen  very  readily  in  my  chapter  on  Clergymen 
Pioneers  in  Electricity,  in  Catholic  Churchmen  in  Sci-^ 
ence  (Second  Series,  Dolphin  Press,  Phila.,  1909).  With 
Volta's  career,  however,  was  initiated  the  story  of  the 
electrical  scientists  who  devoted  themselves  almost  ex- 
clusively to  this  department  of  physics,  though  more  or 
less  necessarily  paying  some  attention  to  related  sub- 
jects. Volta's  discovery  of  a  practical  instrument  for 
measuring  electricity,  as  well  as  of  comparatively  sim- 
ple apparatus  producing  a  continuous  current,  changed 
the  whole  face  of  the  science  of  electricity.  After 
these  inventions,  regular  work  could  be  readily  done  in 
the  investigation  of  problems  in  the  science  of  electric- 
ity without  discouragement  or  inadequate  instruments, 
discontinuous  electrical  phenomena,  disturbances  of  ex- 
periments by  the  weather,  and  other  conditions  which 
had  been  hitherto  so  unfavorable  to  electrical  experi- 


ALESSANDRO  VOLTA 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  163 

mentation.  Volta's  invention  of  the  pile,  or  battery, 
so  deservedly  called  after  him,  caused  electrical  science 
to  take  on  an  entirely  new  aspect,  and  the  modern  de- 
velopment of  electricity  was  assured.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  no  other  invention,  not  even  the  steam-engine, 
meant  so  much  for  the  transformation  of  modern  life  as 
this  new  apparatus  for  the  production  of  a  continuous 
electric  current. 

The  man  who  worked  this  revolution  in  electrical 
science  was  no  mere  inventor  who,  by  a  happy  chance, 
brought  together  practical  factors  that  had  been  well 
known  before  but  had  never  been  combined.  He  was 
one  of  the  greatest  scientists  of  a  period  particularly  rich 
in  examples  of  original  scientific  genius  of  a  high  order. 
Before  his  death,  he  came  to  be  acknowledged  by  the 
scientific  world  of  his  time  as  one  of  the  greatest  leaders 
of  thought,  not  alone  in  electricity,  but  in  all  depart- 
ments of  the  physical  sciences.  His  life  forms  for  this 
reason  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  science 
and  scientific  development. 

Like  most  of  the  distinguished  scientific  discoverers 
of  the  last  two  centuries,  Alessandro  Volta  was  born  in 
very  humble  circumstances.  His  father  was  a  member 
of  the  Italian  nobility,  but  had  wasted  his  patrimony  so 
completely  that  the  family  was  in  extreme  poverty 
when  the  distinguished  son  was  born,  on  the  eighteenth 
of  February,  1745.  This  poverty  was  so  complete  that 
Volta  said  of  it,  later  in  life :  "My  father  owned  noth- 
ing except  a  small  dwelling  worth  about  fourteen  thou- 
sand lire  ;  and  as  he  left  behind  him  seventeen  thousand 
lire  of  debt,  I  was  actually  poorer  than  poor."  A  good 
idea  of  the  circumstances  in  which  Volta' s  childhood 
was  passed  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  could 


164  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

not  even  secure  copy-books  for  his  first  school  exercises 
except  through  the  kindness  of  friends. 

Volta  had  shown  signs  of  genius  from  early  boyhood, 
and  yet  had  been  discouragingly  slow  in  his  intellectual 
development  as  a  child.  In  fact,  it  was  feared  that  he 
was  congenitally  lacking  in  intelligence  to  a  great  degree. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  more  than  four  years  old  before 
he  ever  uttered  a  word.  This  does  not  mean  before  he 
learned  to  talk  connectedly,  but  before  he  could  utter 
even  such  familiar  expressions  as  ' '  father, "  "  mother, ' ' 
and  the  like.  He  was  considered  to  be  dumb;  and,  as  is 
not  infrequently  the  mistaken  notion  with  regard  to 
children  dumb  for  any  reason,  he  was  thought  to  be 
almost  an  idiot.  The  first  word  he  ever  uttered  is  said 
to  have  been  a  vigorous  '*No! "  which  was  heard  when 
one  of  his  relatives  insisted  on  his  doing  something  that 
he  did  not  wish  to  do.  At  the  age  of  seven,  however, 
he  had  so  far  overcome  all  difficulties  of  speech  as  to  be 
looked  upon  as  a  very  bright  child.  Owing  to  this  late, 
unexpected  development,  his  parents  seem  to  have  re- 
garded him  as  a  sort  of  living  miracle,  and  felt  certain 
that  he  was  destined  to  accomplish  great  things.  His 
father  said  of  him  later,  "We  had  a  jewel  in  the  house 
and  did  not  know  it." 

Fortunately  for  Volta,  one  of  his  uncles  was  archdea- 
con of  the  Cathedral,  and  another  was  one  of  the  canons. 
These  relatives  helped  him  to  obtain  an  education,  the 
way  being  made  especially  easy  by  the  fact  that  at  this 
time  all  the  Jesuit  Colleges  subsisted  on  foundations 
and  collected  no  fees  from  any  of  their  students;  so 
that  all  that  was  necessary  for  his  uncles  to  do  for  him 
was  to  contribute  to  his  expenses  outside  of  college. 
According  to  tradition,  the  Jesuits  not  only  helped  Volta 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  165 

in  his  education,  but  assisted  him  in  obtaining  his  books 
and  even  in  his  hving  expenses  while  at  their  college. 
At  the  age  of  about  sixteen,  his  education  was  complete, 
even  including  a  year  of  philosophy.  This  is  probably 
an  indication  of  his  talent  as  a  student ;  though  it  was 
not  an  unusual  thing  in  the  southern  countries  for  stu- 
dents to  graduate  at  sixteen,  or  even  younger,  after  a 
course  equivalent  to  that  now  required  for  the  bachelor's 
degree  in  arts. 

We  have  gotten  far  away  from  this  early  gradua- 
tion, although  it  is  still  sometimes  possible  in  Italian 
universities ;  and  one  of  the  brightest  men  I  ever  knew 
wa&  an  Italian  who  had  graduated  with  a  degree  equiva- 
lent to  our  A.  B.  before  he  was  sixteen.  When  Volta 
graduated,  however,  such  early  completion  of  the  un- 
dergraduate course  was  not  at  all  unusual  in  Italy, 
and  boys  of  thirteen  and  fourteen,  almost  as  a  rule, 
entered  the  undergraduate  department  to  complete  their 
course  for  a  degree  at  seventeen  or  eighteen.  One 
of  our  greatest  physicians  in  this  country,  Benjamin 
Rush,  was  only  seventeen  when  he  completed  his  college 
course,  and  such  examples  were  not  at  all  rare.  Indeed, 
the  possibility  for  these  men  to  devote  themselves 
much  earlier  than  is  possible  now  to  their  serious 
life-work,  yet  with  the  development  of  mind  which 
comes  from  a  University  course  in  the  arts,  was 
probably  a  distinct  help  to  the  success  of  their  scientific 
careers.  One  is  tempted  to  think  that  possibly  such 
justification  of  earlier  graduation,  as  we  find  among  the 
distinguished  scientists  of  a  century  ago,  might  make  us 
reflect  deeply  before  lending  ourselves  to  what  Herbert 
Spencer  thought  a  phase  of  evolution,  the  lengthen- 
ing of  childhood,  for  it  is  just  possible  that  the  earlier 


166  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

recognition  of  manhood  may  mean  more  for  individ- 
ual development.  Of  course,  geniuses  are  exceptions  to 
rule,  and  an  argument  founded  on  their  careers  may 
mean  very  little  for  the  generality  of  students. 

Like  many  another  of  the  great  scientists,  Volta  was 
not  that  constant  source  of  satisfaction  to  his  teachers 
while  at  school  that  might  possibly  be  expected.  He 
had  little  interest  in  the  conventional  elementary  educa- 
tion of  the  time,  he  was  frequently  distracted  during 
school  hours,  and  even  as  a  mere  boy  often  asked  ques- 
tions with  regard  to  natural  phenomena  that  were  puz- 
zlers to  his  masters,  and  sometimes  complained  of  their 
lack  of  knowledge.  He  fortunately  outgrew  this  prig- 
gishness,  for  in  later  childhood  he  seems  to  have  been 
one  of  those  talented  children  who  learn  rapidly  and  who 
are  impatient  at  being  kept  back  while  their  slower 
fellow-pupils  are  having  drilled  into  them  what  came 
so  easy  to  readier  talents. 

In  his  classical  studies,  however,  Volta  was  deeply 
interested.  He  was  especially  enthusiastic  over  poetry, 
and  at  school  devoted  the  spare  time  that  his  readiness 
of  acquisition  left  him  to  the  reading  of  Virgil  and  Tasso. 
These  favorite  authors  became  so  familiar  to  him  that 
he  could  repeat  much  of  them  by  heart,  and  even  in  old 
age  could  cap  verses  from  them  better  than  any  of  his 
friends,  even  those  all  of  whose  lives  had  been  devoted 
exclusively  to  literary  occupations.  During  his  walks, 
when  an  old  man,  he  often  entertained  himself  by  re- 
peating long  passages  from  the  classic  Latin  and  Italian 
poets. 

Even  at  this  time,  Volta's  interest  in  the  physical 
sciences  was  very  marked.  There  is  still  extant  a  Latin 
poem  of  about  five  hundred  verses,   in  which  he  sets 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  167 

forth  the  observations  of  Priestley,  the  discoverer  of 
oxygen,  vsrhom  it  used  to  be  the  custom  to  call  the 
Father  of  Modern  Chemistry.  This  poem  shows  his 
thorough  familiarity  with  the  work  of  the  great  English 
investigator.  Volta's  model  was  Lucretius.  Lest  it 
should  be  a  source  of  surprise  that  an  Italian  scientist 
had  recourse  to  Latin  for  even  a  poetic  account  of  scien- 
tific discoveries,  it  may  be  well  to  recall  that  Latin  was 
still  the  universal  language  of  science  at  that  time,  and 
Volta's  great  contemporary  in  electricity,  Galvani,  wrote 
his  original  monograph  on  animal  electricity  in  that 
language,  and  even  the  Father  of  Pathology  wrote  his 
first  great  treatise,  De  Causis  et  Sedibus  Morborum, 
in  that  tongue.  As  to  his  adoption  of  verse  as  a  vehicle 
for  scientific  writing,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  at 
the  time  when  Volta  was  writing  his  poem,  another 
distinguished  writer  on  scientific  subjects,  Erasmus 
Darwin,  the  grandfather  of  Charles  Darwin  of  the  last 
generation,  was  composing  his  * '  Zoonomia  ;  or.  Animal 
Biography,"  in  English  verse.  Didactic  verse  was 
quite  the  fashion  of  the  time,  and  some  of  it,  even  when 
it  came  from  acknowledged  poets,  had  not  more  poetry 
than  Volta' s  effusion. 

As  if  to  make  up  for  his  lack  of  linguistic  faculty 
when  young,  Volta  seems  to  have  had  a  special  gift  for 
languages  when  he  grew  older.  Before  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  knew  French  as  well  as  his  mother  tongue, 
read  German  and  English  fluently,  and  Low  Dutch  and 
Spanish  were  not  beyond  his  comprehension.  Besides 
his  verses  in  Latin  he  wrote  poetry  also  in  French  and 
Italian,  always  with  cleverness  at  least,  and  at  times 
with  true  poetic  feeling. 

While  attending  the  Jesuit  school,  he  expressed,  it  is 


168  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

said,  a  desire  to  enter  the  Order.  As  his  father,  how- 
ever, had  been  with  the  Jesuits  for  eleven  years  and 
had  then  given  up  his  studies,  his  family  feared  a  rep- 
etition of  such  an  experience ;  and  so  his  clergymen 
uncles  took  him  away  from  the  school  and  sent  hini  for 
a  while  to  the  Seminary  at  Benzi.  After  a  time  Volta 
abandoned  the  idea  of  becoming  a  priest,  but  would  not 
consent  to  follow  the  wishes  of  the  family  council 
further,  at  least  not  to  the  extent  of  becoming  a  law- 
yer. Though  he  studied  law  for  a  time,  he  constantly 
wandered  away  to  the  reading  of  books  on  the  natural 
sciences  and  to  the  study  of  natural  objects.  Finally 
he  was  allowed  to  give  up  law  to  devote  himself  ex- 
clusively to  science. 

Fortunately,  one  of  the  canons  of  the  Cathedral  of 
Como,  a  former  fellow-student  of  his  and  a  man  of  con- 
siderable means,  was  also  interested  in  the  natural 
sciences,  and  obtained  the  books  and  instruments 
necessary  to  enable  Volta  and  himself  to  continue  their 
studies.  Father  Gattoni  seems  to  have  realized  at  once 
the  possibilities  for  great  advances  in  science  that  lay 
in  Volta' s  wonderful  powers  of  observation,  and  en- 
couraged him  in  every  way.  As  a  consequence,  some 
of  the  important  experiments  that  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  modern  science  of  electricity  and  proved  the  be- 
ginning of  Volta's  world-wide  reputation  were  carried 
on  in  Gattoni's  rooms. 

As  a  young  man,  Volta  was  so  completely  devoted  to 
scientific  investigations  that  there  could  be  no  doubt  of 
the  bent  of  his  genius  for  original  work  of  a  high  order. 
His  power  of  concentration  of  attention  on  a  subject 
was  supreme.  Biographers  emphasize  that  there  was 
no  time,  much  less  inclination,  for  the  levities  that  so 


VOLTA    THE  FOUNDER  169 

often  appeal  to  the  growing  youth.  He  was  almost  toa 
staid  and  preoccupied  with  his  work  for  his  own  health 
and  the  comfort  of  his  friends.  When  he  became  inter- 
ested in  a  series  of  experiments,  he  often  forgot  the 
flight  of  time,  and  was  known  to  miss  meals,  and  inad- 
ventently  to  put  off  going  to  bed— apparently  quite  un- 
conscious of  his  physical  necessities.  This  intense  concen- 
tration of  mind  had  its  disadvantages.  One  of  his  friends 
complained  playfully  that  he  made  a  rather  disagreeable 
traveling  companion  on  account  of  his  tendency  to  be- 
come abstracted;  and  on  occasions  this  friend  was  deeply 
mortified  to  see  Volta,  when  in  company,  take  out  a 
pocket-handkerchief  that  had  been  used  for  some  pur- 
pose in  the  laboratory— which  showed  unmistakable 
signs  of  its  previous  employment  as  a  cleansing  agent 
for  dirty  instruments  or  hands,  though  its  possessor  was 
evidently  unconscious  of  its  appearance.  More  than 
once,  too,  his  handkerchief  proved,  when  taken  out  for 
its  natural  uses,  to  be  as  preoccupied  as  its  owner :  speci- 
mens of  rocks  or  natural  curiosities  that  he  had  gathered 
and  inadvertently  allowed  to  remain  in  his  pocket  came 
with  it. 

All  during  his  life  he  retained  an  unusual  faculty  for 
concentrating  his  attention,  which  at  times  amounted  to 
complete  abstraction  from  his  surroundings.  It  is  related 
that,  one  cold  morning  his  students  at  the  University  of 
Pavia  found  him  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  so  intent  on  arrang- 
ing the  experiments  that  were  to  illustrate  his  morning 
lecture  that  he  was  unconscious  of  the  time,  and  even 
did  not  notice  their  coming  into  the  room  until  they  had 
been  for  some  time  in  their  seats  and  he  had  finally 
completed  the  arrangement  for  the  demonstrations.  He 
was  constantly  occupied  with  problems  in  natural  science^ 


170  MAKERS   OF  ELECTRICITY 

looking  for  the  explanation  of  phenomena  that  he  did  not 
understand  as  well  as  gathering  new  data  by  observation 
and  experiment.  He  was  gifted  with  the  supremely- 
inquisitive  spirit,  in  the  scientific  sense  of  the  epithet, 
and  could  not  be  satisfied  with  accepting  things  as  he 
found  them  without  knowing  the  reasons  for  them. 

Volta  furnishes  another  excellent  illustration  of  how 
soon  genius  gets  at  its  life-work.  We  have  his  own 
authority  for  the  fact  that  he  had  come  to  certain  con- 
clusions with  regard  to  the  explanation  of  electrical  phe- 
nomena, which,  when  he  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age, 
he  set  forth  in  a  letter  to  the  Abbe  Nollet,  who  was  then 
one  of  the  best  known  experimenters  and  writers  on  elec- 
trical phenomena  in  Europe.  Though  so  young,  Volta 
had  tried  to  simplify  Franklin's  theory  of  electricity  by 
assuming  that  there  was  an  action  only  between  a  (sup- 
posed) electrical  substance  and  matter.  It  is  curious  to 
see  how  much  he  anticipated  what  was  to  be  the  think- 
ing for  more  than  a  century  after  his  time  and  practically 
down  to  the  present  day.  He  considers  that  all  bodies,  in 
their  normal  state,  contain  electricity  in  such  proportion 
that  electrical  equilibrium  is  established  within  them. 
Electrical  phenomena,  then,  are  due  to  disturbances  of 
this  equilibrium.  Such  disturbances  may  be  produced 
by  physical  means,  as  by  friction  or  by  chemical  means, 
and  even  atmospheric  electricity  may  be  explained  in 
the  former  way. 

Volta's  first  formal  paper  on  electricity,  bearing  the 
title  De  Vi  Attractiva  Ignis  Electrici,  was  published  in 
1769,  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  of  age.  His 
second  paper,  Novus  Ac  Simplicissimtis,  Electricorum 
Tentaminum  Apparatus— "^e^w  and  Very  Simple.  Ap- 
paratus for  Electrical  Tests,  shows  that  Volta  was  get- 


VOLT  A   THE  FOUNDER  171 

•ting  beyond  the  stage  of  theorizing  about  electricity  into 
the  experimental  work,  which  was  to  form  the  founda- 
tion of  his  contributions  to  electrical  science.  It  is  not 
surprising,  then,  that  when  he  was  just  past  thirty,  in 
1775,  he  was  able  to  announce  to  Priestley  his  invention 
of  the  electrophorus.  Priestley  is  usually  thought  of 
as  one  of  the  founders  of  modern  chemistry,  but  he  was 
known  to  his  own  generation,  especially  at  this  time,  as 
the  writer  of  a  very  interesting  and  complete  history  of 
electricity.  It  is  characteristic  of  Volta's  careful  ways, 
that  the  reason  for  his  letter  to  Priestley  was  in  order 
to  obtain  information  from  him  as  to  what  extent  this 
invention,  which  Volta  knew,  as  far  as  he  was  con- 
cerned, to  be  original  with  himself,  was  novel  in  the 
domain  of  electrical  advance.^ 

With  the  intense  interest  in  his  work  that  we  have 
noted,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  Volta's  investigations 
proving  fruitful.  His  active  inventive  genius  stood 
him  in  good  stead  in  enabling  him  to  demonstrate  prin- 
ciples by  working  instruments.  The  electrophorus  is 
but  one  of  the  instruments  that  show  the  very  practical 
character  of  the  man.  He  was  especially  taken  with  the 
idea  of  securing  some  method  of  measuring  electricity. 
Among  other  things,  he  invented  the  condensing  elec- 
troscope, in  which,  instead  of  the  ribbons  of  gold  leaf  now 
employed,  he  used  straws.  With  this  instrument  he  was 
able  to  demonstrate  the  presence  of  minute  quantities 
of  electricity  developed  under  circumstances  in  which 
ordinarily  the  occurrence  of  any  such  phenomena  would 
be  unsuspected.  These  two  instruments,  the  electro- 
scope and  the  electrophorus,  lifted  the,  department  of 

1  Wilcke,  a  Swedish  investigator  of  electric  phenomena,  constructed  in  1762  two 
^machines  involving-  the  principle  of  the  electrophorus. — (Bkother  Potamian.) 


172  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

electricity  out  of  the  realm  of  theory  into  that  of  accu- 
rate scientific  demonstration,  and  made  the  electrical 
departments  of  the  physical  laboratories  of  the  time 
much  more  interesting  and  important  than  they  had 
been  before. 

Though  so  early  occupied  with  electricity,  Volta  did 
not  confine  himself  to  this  subject,  nor  even  to  the  wider 
field  of  physics,  and  that  he  did  not  hesitate,  in  his 
scientific  inquisitiveness,  to  follow  clues  even  in  chemis- 
try, is  well  illustrated  by  his  first  step  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  gases.  His  attention  being  called  to  bubbles 
breaking  on  the  surface  of  Lake  Maggiore  while  on  a 
fishing  excursion,  he  set  about  finding  their  source,  and 
noted  that  whenever  the  bottom  of  the  lake  near  the 
shore  was  stirred  somewhat  a  number  of  bubbles  arose, 
and  that  the  gas  thus  set  free  was  inflammable.  He 
constructed  an  electrical  pistol  in  which  gases  thus  set 
free  were  exploded  by  a  spark  from  the  electrophorus. 
About  the  same  time,  on  the  principle  of  the  electrical 
pistol,  he  invented  the  eudiometer,  an  apparatus  by 
means  of  which  the  oxygen  content  of  air  could  be 
determined. 

With  regard  to  these  inventions,  Arago  calls  attention 
to  a  special  quality  that  is  peculiar  to  all  of  Volta's 
work.  "There  is  not  a  single  one  of  the  discoveries  of 
Prof essor  Volta, "  says  the  distinguished  French  scien- 
tist, "which  can  be  said  to  be  the  result  of  chance. 
Every  instrument  with  which  he  has  enriched  science 
existed  in  principle  in  his  imagination  before  an  artisan 
began  to  put  it  into  a  material  shape." 

After  these  inventions  and  his  previous  work,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  in  1774  Volta  was  offered  the  professor- 
ship of  experimental  physics  in  the  College  of  Como. 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  173 

Here  he  labored  for  five  years,  until  he  received  a  call, 
in  1779,  to  the  professorship  of  physics  at  the  University 
of  Pavia,  where  he  was  destined  to  remain  in  an  active 
teaching  capacity  for  a  period  of  forty  years. 

Volta  began  his  life-work  as  professor  of  physics  at 
Pavia  by  extending  his  observations  on  gases.  He  was 
the  first  to  demonstrate  the  expansion  of  gases  under 
heat,  especially  as  regards  their  increased  expansibility 
at  higher  temperatures.  Many  observers  had  been  at 
work  on  this  problem  before  his  time,  but  there  were 
serious  discrepancies  in  the  results  reported.  Volta  was 
the  first  to  point  out  the  reasons  for  the  apparent  incon- 
sistencies of  previous  investigators'  findings  ;  and  from 
his  observations  alone  some  valuable  data  might  have 
been  obtained  for  the  establishment  of  what  has  since 
become  known  as  the  "law  of  Charles." 

At  this  time,  his  knowledge  of  English  enabled  him  to 
follow  English  discoveries  closely,  and  he  seems  to  have 
paid  particular  attention  to  the  work  of  Cavendish  and 
Priestley.  Not  long  after  Cavendish's  description  of 
the  method  of  obtaining  pure  hydrogen,  Volta  made  a 
series  of  observations  on  the  relations  of  spongy  platinum 
to  this  gas,  and  pointed  out  the  spontaneous  ignition 
that  takes  place  when  the  two  substances  are  brought 
together.  This  experiment  is  the  basis  of  what  has 
since  been  known  as  the  hydrogen  lamp,  called,  from 
the  German  observer  who  first  made  it  a  practical 
instrument,  Dobereiner's  lamp. 

After  seven  years  of  teaching,  Volta  was  given  the 
opportunity  to  visit  various  parts  of  Europe,  and  took 
advantage  of  the  occasion  to  meet  most  of  the  celebrated 
men  of  science.  His  linguistic  faculty  stood  him  in 
good  stead  during  this  sabbatical  year,  and  his  travel 


174  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

aided  him  in  completing  a  thorough  acquaintanceship 
with  European  languages  as  well  as  with  scientists.  His 
practical  character  led  him,  during  his  trip,  to  note  the 
growth  of  the  potato  and  its  uses  in  various  European 
countries,  and  he  brought  the  plant  home  with  him  to 
Italy  in  order  to  introduce  it  among  the  farmers.  He 
succeeded  in  making  his  countrymen  realize  its  value, 
and  the  introduction  of  the  potato  is  one  of  the  reasons 
for  which  Italians  have  always  looked  up  to  him  as  a 
benefactor  of  his  native  land.  How  modern  this  makes 
a  vegetable  we  are  inclined  to  think  of  as  having  been 
always  an  important  food  resource  of  the  race ! 

About  the  middle  of  the  third  quarter  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  by  one  of  the  fortunate  accidents  that 
happen,  however,  only  to  genius,  Galvani,  at  the  time 
Professor  of  anatomy  in  Bologna,  had  been  led  to  make 
the  observation  that  if  a  frog,  so  prepared  that  its  hind 
leg  is  attached  to  the  trunk  only  by  means  of  the  sciatic 
nerve,  happens  to  be  touched  by  a  metal  instrument  in 
such  a  way  as  to  put  nerve  and  muscle  in  connection 
with  each  other  through  the  metal  instrument,  a  very 
curious  phenomenon  is  observed,  the  muscles  of  the 
almost  severed  leg  becoming  spasmodically  contracted 
and  then  relaxed  whenever  the  contacts  were  made  and 
broken.  Galvani  noted  the  phenomenon  first  in  connec- 
tion with  an  electric  machine,  and  looked  for  an  explan- 
ation of  it  in  electricity,  thinking  that  there  was  an 
analogy  between  it  and  the  discharge  of  the  Leyden  jar. 
After  several  years  of  careful  observation,  he  published 
a  monograph  on  the  subject,  which  at  once  attracted 
attention  all  over  Europe. 

Volta  was  very  much  interested  in  Galvani 's  work, 
and  took  up  the  development  of  it  from  the  physical 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  175 

side.  At  first  he  agreed  with  the  explanation  offered 
by  Galvani,  who  considered  that  his  experiment  demon- 
strated the  presence  of  electricity  in  animal  bodies, 
and  who  proposed  to  introduce  the  term  ' '  animal  elec- 
tricity." After  careful  investigation,  however,  Galvani 's 
assertion  that  animal  electricity  existed  in  a  form  en- 
tirely independent  of  any  external  electricity,  though 
it  had  been  accepted  by  most  of  the  distinguished  men 
of  science  of  the  time,  seemed  to  Volta  without  ex- 
perimental verification.  For  many  years  his  most 
determined  efforts  were  used  to  demonstrate  that  the 
muscle  twitchings  observed  were  not  due  to  the  presence 
of  animal  electricity  (galvanism  as  it  had  come  to  be 
called),  but  to  the  fact  that  the  metals  touching  the 
different  portions  of  the  moist  nerve  muscle  preparation 
really  set  up  minute  currents  of  ordinary  electricity. 

Some  of  the  experiments  which  he  devised  for  this 
purpose  were  extremely  ingenious,  and  show  how 
thoroughly  empirical  were  his  methods  and  how  modern 
his  scientific  spirit.  In  the  course  of  his  experiments 
he  found  that  a  difference  in  the  metals  of  which  the 
arc  was  composed,  when  used  for  the  purpose  of  elicit- 
ing the  so-called  animal  electricity,  made  a  great  differ- 
ence in  the  electrical  phenomena  observed  and  in  the 
amount  of  muscle  twitchings  obtained.  In  one  brilliant 
series  of  experiments,  moreover,  he  showed  that,  even 
when  the  metallic  portions  touching  nerve  and  muscle 
were  identical,  there  might  still  be  distinct  electrical 
phenomena,  if  only  an  artificial  difference  in  tempera- 
ture of  the  end  of  the  metallic  arc  were  produced. 
Volta  was  even  able  to  demonstrate  that  such  minute 
physical  differences  as  the  filing  of  one  end  of  the 


176  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

metallic  arc  used  might  give  rise  to  small  currents  of 
electricity. 

In  the  midst  of  these  experiments,  he  came  to  the 
realization  that  two  portions  of  metal  of  different  kinds, 
separated  by  a  moist  non-conducting  material,  might 
be  made  to  produce  a  constant  current  of  electricity  for 
some  time.  More  than  this,  however,  he  found  that 
4iscs  of  metal  of  different  kinds  might  be  piled  on  top 
of  one  another  with  intervening  discs  of  moist  cloth, 
and  so  produce  proportionately  stronger  currents  as 
more  and  more  of  the  metal  plates  were  employed. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  voltaic  pile,  as  it  has  been 
called— the  first  battery  for  the  production  at  will  of 
regular  currents  of  electricity  of  definite  strength.^ 

While  engaged  at  this  he  succeeded  in  demonstrating 
what  has  come  to  be  known  as  Volta's  basic  experiment ; 
namely,  that  two  plates  of  metal  of  different  kinds 
become  electrically  excited  merely  by  contact.  This 
was  practically  the  beginning  of  the  great  advance  in 
applied  electricity  which  ushered  in  our  modern  elec- 
trical era.  It  seems  a  simple  matter  now,  looking  back 
over  the  century  that  has  elapsed  since  then,  to  have 
taken  the  successive  steps  that  Volta  did  for  the  con- 
struction of  his  electrical  pile  and  for  the  demonstration 
of  the  principle  of  contact  electricity.     Groping,  as  he 

1  Brother  Potamian  has  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that  Volta's  work  on  the 
origin  of  electricity  from  two  different  metals  when,  though  connected,  they  were  yet 
separated  by  some  moist  mediimi,  was  curiously  anticipated  by  an  observation  de- 
scribed by  Sulzer,  in  a  book  called  Nouvelle  Theorie  des  Plaisirs,  1767.  In  this  he  states 
that,  if  a  silver  and  a  lead  coin,  placed  one  above  and  the  other  under  the  tongue,  be 
brought  in  contact  a  sour  taste  develops,  which  he  considers  to  be  due  to  vibrations 
set  up  by  the  contact  of  the  two  metals.  He  seems  also  to  have  had  a  flash  of  light 
before  the  eyes,  so  that  all  the  elements  necessary  for  the  discovery  of  the  voltaic 
pile  were  in  his  hands,  and  indeed  he  was  making  what  has  since  become  one  of  the 
classical  experiments,  by  which  certain  physiological  effects  of  the  electric  current 
are  demonstrated. 


VOLT  A   THE  FOUNDER  177 

was,  in  the  dark,  however,  it  took  him  three  years  to 
make  the  progress  that  we  have  described  in  a  few 
words.  How  great  his  discoveries  appeared,  even  to 
the  most  distinguished  of  his  scientific  contemporaries, 
can  best  be  judged  from  an  expression  of  one  of  the 
greatest  of  French  electrical  scientists,  Arago,  who 
declared  "Volta's  pile  the  most  wonderful  instrument 
that  has  ever  come  from  the  hand  of  man,  not  exclud- 
ing even  the  telescope  or  the  steam-engine." 

An  excellent  description  of  just  how  Volta  made  his 
electric  pile  and  what  he  was  able  to  accomplish  with 
it  experimentally  in  the  laboratory,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  numbers  for  January  and  February,  1900,  of  the 
Stimmen  aus  Maria-Laach— a  literary  and  scientific 
periodical  published  by  the  German  Jesuits.  This  ar- 
ticle on  Alessandro  Volta,  by  Father  Kneller,  S.  J. ,  was 
written  shortly  after  the  celebration  of  the  hundredth 
anniversary  of  Volta' s  invention  of  the  electric  pile, 
when  there  had  just  been  a  fresh  sorting  over  of  Volta's 
documents,  and  contains  a  very  full  set  of  references 
to  the  biographical  material  for  Volta' s  life.  Father 
Kneller  says : 

"Before  this,  no  one  thought  for  a  moment  of  any 
possibility  of  the  practical  application  of  electricity. 
But  all  at  once  the  whole  situation  changed.  After 
eight  years  of  observation  and  experiment,  Volta  ac- 
complished one  day,  at  the  beginning  of  1800,  in  his 
laboratory  at  Como,  the  construction  of  an  instrument 
which  was  to  revolutionize  the  study  and  the  practical 
applications  of  electricity.  He  made  a  pile  composed  of  a 
large  number  of  equal-sized  copper  and  zinc  discs.  On 
each  copper  disc  he  placed  one  of  zinc,  and  then  on  this 
a  moistened  piece  of  cloth,  and  continued  the  series  of 


178  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

alternate  discs  and  cloths  in  this  order  until  he  had  a 
rather  high  column.  This  was  an  apparatus  as  simple 
as  possible  and  from  which  no  one  but  Volta  could 
possibly  have  promised  any  results.  The  inventor, 
however,  knew  what  he  was  about. 

' '  As  soon  as  he  had  connected  the  upper  and  lower 
metal  plates  by  means  of  a  wire,  there  began  to  flow 
from  the  zinc  to  the  copper  a  secret  something,  which 
by  the  application  of  the  ends  of  the  wire  to  muscles 
caused  them  to  twitch ;  which  appeared  before  the  eye 
as  light;  applied  to  the  tongue,  gave  a  sensation  of 
taste  ;  caused  a  thin  wire  to  glow  and  even  to  burn  be- 
tween carbon  points ;  produced  a  blinding  light ;  de- 
composed water  into  its  constituents  ;  dissolved  hitherto 
unknown  metals  out  of  salts  and  earth ;  made  iron 
magnetic ;  directed  the  magnetic  needle  out  of  its  path  ; 
inclosed  wire  coils  caused  new  electric  currents  to  be 
set  up ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  awful  spectacle  which 
occurred  when,  under  the  influence  of  the  electric 
current,  the  bodies  of  executed  criminals  again  gave 
movements  of  the  limbs,  their  thoraxes  really  heaved 
and  sank  as  if  they  really  breathed,  and  even  a  dead 
grasshopper  was  caused  to  spring  and  apparently  to 
sing  again. 

' '  Only  now,  after  the  discovery  of  this  new  kind  of 
electricity— which  did  not  work  merely  by  jerks,  but 
flowed  in  a  constant  stream  from  pole  to  pole— only 
now  was  this  mighty  natural  agent  won  to  the  service 
of  man.  Volta  is,  therefore,  above  all  others,  the  one 
who  broke  ground  not  only  for  an  immense  amount  of 
new  knowledge  in  physics,  chemistry  and  physiology, 
but  who  also  made  possible  rapid  progress  in  practical 
electricity,  in  telegraphy,  in  electric  motors  and  power 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  179 

machines,  in  electroplating  and  the  marvelous  results  in 
electro-galvanism  which  constitute  our  most  wonderful 
mechanical  effects  at  the  present  time." 

Soon  after  Volta's  discovery  of  the  electric  pile,  or 
voltaic  pile,  as  it  was  called  in  his  honor,  his  reputation 
spread  throughout  Europe.  At  the  beginning  of  1800, 
he  sent  a  detailed  description  of  the  voltaic  pile  to  the 
Royal  Society  of  London.  During  the  year  1801  the 
scientific  journals  all  over  Europe  were  filled  with  dis- 
cussions of  his  discovery. 

The  French  Academy  of  Sciences  invited  him  to  Paris 
in  order  to  demonstrate  his  discoveries  to  the  members 
of  that  body.  Volta  was  now  looking  forward  to  some 
peaceful  years  of  study,  and,  so  far  as  he  was  personally 
concerned,  would  surely  have  refused  the  invitation. 
Circumstances  were  such,  however,  that  it  became  a 
civic  duty  for  him  to  proceed  to  Paris. 

At  this  time  Napoleon  was  First  Consul,  and  the 
Italian  cities  wished  to  propitiate  his  favor  as  far  as 
possible.  It  was  considered  a  wise  thing  by  the  city  to 
send  a  special  delegation  to  Paris,  and,  as  they  knew 
Napoleon  was  deeply  interested  in  scientific  discoveries 
that  promised  practical  results,  the  name  of  Volta  was 
suggested  as  one  of  the  official  delegates.  As  an 
associate.  Professor  Brugnatelli,  who  had  made  some 
important  investigations  in  chemistry,  and  who  was 
later  to  be  an  extender  of  the  practical  application  of 
Volta' s  discoveries  by  the  invention  of  the  first  method 
of  electroplating,  was  the  other  member  of  the  delega- 
tion. It  is  a  curious  reflection  on  the  facilities  for 
travel  at  the  time,  that  it  took  twenty-six  days  for  the 
delegates  to  reach  Paris  from  Pavia. 

Shortly  after  their  arrival  in  Paris,  the  travelers 


180  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

were  formally  introduced  to  the  members  of  the  French 
Institute,  and  a  number  of  sessions  of  the  Academy- 
were  held,  at  which  Volta's  discoveries  were  discussed. 
Volta  read  a  communication  on  the  identity  of  electric- 
ity and  galvanism.  Napoleon,  as  First  Consul,  was 
present  at  these  sessions  in  the  robe  of  an  Academician, 
and  was  not  only  an  interested  listener,  but  occasion- 
ally, by  pertinent  questions,  drew  out  significant  details 
of  former  experiments  and  Volta's  own  theories  with 
regard  to  the  nature  of  the  phenomena  observed.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  meeting,  at  which  Volta  took  a 
prominent  part,  Napoleon  spent  several  hours  with  him 
talking  about  the  prospects  of  electricity. 

In  his  letters  to  his  brothers  and  to  his  wife  at  this 
time,  Volta  expressed  his  pleasure  at  finding  how  much 
attention  his  discoveries  were  attracting  all  over  Europe. 
*As  he  said  himself,  Germany,  France  and  England  were 
full  of  them,  and  all  the  distinguished  scientists  were 
eager  to  do  him  honor.  In  France,  he  was  chosen  one 
of  the  eight  foreign  members  of  the  Institute,  and  was 
made  Knight  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  of 
the  Order  of  the  Iron  Crown.  Napoleon  selected  him  as 
one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Italian  Academy,  which 
he  was  then  in  course  of  establishing,  and  conferred  on 
him  the  honor  of  Senator  and  Count  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Italy.  The  French  Academy,  after  having  heard  Volta's 
own  description  of  his  experiments  and  discoveries,  con- 
trary to  its  usual  custom,  voted  to  him  by  acclamation 
its  gold  medal.  More  important  still,  Bonaparte  made 
him  a  present  of  6000  lire,  and  conferred  upon  him  an 
annual  income  of  3000  lire  from  the  public  purse.  It  is 
an  index  of  Volta's  feeling  as  a  faithful  son  of  the 
Church,  that  as  this  income  was  allotted  to  him  from  the 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  181 

revenues  of  the  bishopric  of  Adria,  he  would  consent  to 
receive  it  only  after  Napoleon's  decree  had  been  con- 
firmed by  the  Pope. 

Volta  had  been  for  nearly  twenty  years  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pavia  before  he  finally  found  for  himself  a 
wife.  He  was  then  past  forty-nine  years  of  age.  His 
wife  was  the  youngest  daughter  of  Count  Ludovico  Per- 
egrini.  She  had  six  sisters,  one  of  whom  became  a  nun, 
and  all  the  others  were  married  before  Volta  sought  the 
hand  of  the  youngest.     Writing  to  a  friend,  he  says, 

that  her  sisters  had  distinguished  themselves  so  much 
by  piety,  prudence,  good  sense  and  practical  economy  in 
their  households  as  well  as  by  the  most  admirable  quali- 
ties of  heart  and  mind,  that  he  considered  himself  very 
fortunate  in  obtaining  a  branch  from  the  family  tree ; 
and  he  took  her  in  preference  to  others  that  had  been 
offered  to  him,  even  though  they  were  possessed  of 
greater  physical  beauty,  more  exalted  piety  and  a  larger 
dowry."  The  marriage  seems  to  have  been  a  very  happy 
one,  notwithstanding  the  considerable  disparity  of  ages 
and  the  very  matter-of-fact  spirit  with  which  it  was 
entered  into  by  one  of  the  parties  at  least. 

The  charming  intimacy  of  his  domestic  life  may  be 
judged  from  some  of  his  letters  to  his  wife  when  he 
was  traveling.  She  was  always  his  confidante  with 
regard  to  new  things  in  science  that  he  saw,  and  espe- 
cially as  regards  the  kindly  reception  which  he  met  with 
from  scientists  and  the  readiness  with  which  they 
accepted  his  views.  At  first,  so  many  of  his  ideas  were 
new,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  they  were  looked  at 
somewhat  askance  by  contemporary  scientists.  When, 
on  his  journeys  through  France,  he  noticed  the  trend  of 
opinion  setting  in  favor  of  his  views  in  electricity,  he 


182  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

took  pains  to  tell  his  wife,  and  apparently  found  his 
greatest  pleasure  in  having  her  share  the  joy  of  his 
triumph. 

One  of  the  severest  blows  that  he  suffered  was  the 
untimely  death  of  his  eldest  son,  Flaminio,  in  1814. 
''This  loss,"  he  wrote  to  one  of  his  nephews  not  long 
after,  "  strikes  me  so  much  to  heart  that  I  do  not  think 
I  shall  ever  have  another  happy  day."  The  relations 
between  himself  and  his  children  were  all  of  the  kindliest 
nature  ;  and  the  character  of  the  man  comes  out  perhaps 
even  more  clearly  in  the  traditions  that  are  still  extant 
with  regard  to  the  devotion  of  his  servants  to  him,  and 
especially  his  body-servant,  Polonio.  Volta  was  always 
a  simple  and  unpretentious  person,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  scientific  and  even  political  honors  had  been 
heaped  upon  him  toward  the  end  of  his  life.  It  was 
rather  difficult,  for  instance,  to  get  him  to  change  his 
old  clothes  for  new  ones.  This  feat  was  usually  accom- 
plished by  Polonio,  who,  when  he  thought  the  time  had 
arrived  for  his  master  to  put  on  the  newer  clothes, 
would  engage  him  in  some  scientific  explanation  of  a 
morning ;  then  handing  him  the  new  garments,  Volta 
would  put  them  on,  and  would  be  wearing  them  for 
some  time  before  he  noticed  it.  The  old  servant  was 
then  generally  able  to  persuade  him  that  it  was  time  to 
make  the  change.  Toward  the  end  of  his  career,  Volta 
led  a  retired  life  in  a  country  house  not  far  from  his  na- 
tive city  of  Como.  Foreigners  often  came  to  see  or  even 
have  the  privilege  of  a  few  words  with  the  distinguished 
scientist  who  was  regarded  as  the  patriarch  of  electrical 
science.  To  Volta,  the  being  on  exhibition  was  always 
an  unpleasant  function.  He  did  not  care  to  be  lionized, 
and  frequently  refused  to  allow  himself  even  to  be  seen 


VOLTA  THE  FOUNDER  183 

unless  his  visitors  had  a  scientific  motive.  On  such 
occasions,  the  only  chance  of  the  visitors  was  to  secure 
the  good  will  of  Polonio.  He  would  engage  his  unsus- 
pecting master  in  a  discussion  of  clouds  or  wind,  or 
some  appearance  in  the  heavens,  or  something  in  the 
leaves  of  the  neighboring  trees,  and  would  then  bring 
him  to  the  portico,  that  he  might  see  the  supposed 
phenomenon.  This  would  give  occasion  for  the  visitors 
to  get  at  least  a  glimpse  of  the  scientist,  who  usually- 
failed  to  suspect  the  real  purpose  for  which  he  had  been 
tempted  out  of  doors. 

While  thus  living  in  the  country,  Volta's  piety  became 
a  sort  of  proverb  among  the  country  people.  Every 
morning  at  an  early  hour,  in  company  with  his  servant, 
he  could  be  seen  with  bowed  head  making  his  way  to 
the  church.  Here  he  heard  mass,  and  usually  the  office 
of  the  day,  in  which  all  the  canons  of  the  cathedral  took 
part.  He  had  a  special  place  on  the  epistle  side  of  the 
altar,  not  far  from  the  organ.  His  favorite  method  of 
prayer  was  the  rosary.  He  was  not  infrequently  held 
up  to  the  people  by  the  parish  priest  as  a  model  of 
devotion.  Whenever  he  was  in  the  country,  every  even- 
ing saw  him  taking  his  walk  towards  the  church.  On 
these  occasions,  he  was  usually  accompanied  by  members 
of  his  family,  and  they  entered  the  church  for  an 
evening  visit  to  the  blessed  sacrament. 

His  behavior  toward  those  who  lived  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  his  country  place  endeared  him  to  all  the  peas- 
antry. He  was  not  only  liberal  in  giving  alms,  but 
made  it  a  point  to  visit  frequently  the  houses  of  the 
poor  and  help  them  as  much  as  possible  by  counsel  and 
suggestion.  His  scientific  knowledge  was  at  command 
for  their  benefit,  and  he  was  often  able  to  tell  them  how 


184  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

to  avoid  many  dangers.  He  gave  them  definite  ideas 
with  regard  to  the  importance  of  cleanliness  and  the 
necessity  of  cooking  their  food  very  carefully  so  as  to 
prevent  diseases  occasioned  by  badly  cooked  material. 
He  also  taught  them  to  distinguish  between  the  whole- 
some and  the  spurred  rye,  from  which  their  polenta  was 
prepared,  in  order  to  escape  the  dreaded  pellagra,  the 
disease  so  common  in  Italy,  which  comes  from  the  use 
of  diseased  grain. 

He  endeared  himself  so  much  to  the  people  of  the 
countryside  that  they  invented  a  special  name  for  him, 
which  proclaimed  the  tenderness  of  their  liking  for 
the  man.  They  knew  how  much  he  was  honored  for 
his  wonderful  discoveries  in  electricity,  and  many  of 
them  had  even  seen  some  of  the  (to  them  at  least) 
inexplicable  phenomena  that  he  could  produce  at  will  by 
means  of  various  electrical  contrivances.  At  first  they 
called  him  a  "magician";  but  as  this  word  has,  par- 
ticularly for  the  Italian  peasantry,  a  suspicion  of  evil  in 
it,  they  added  the  adjective  "beneficent,"  and  he  was 
generally  known  as  U  mago  henefico. 

His  interest  in  these  gentle,  kindly  people  may  be 
appreciated  from  the  fact  that  he  knew  practically  all 
of  his  country  neighbors  by  name,  and,  as  a  rule,  he 
was  familiar  also  with  the  conditions  of  their  families 
and  their  household  affairs.  Not  infrequently  he  would 
stop  and  talk  to  them  about  such  things,  and  this  favor 
was  always  considered  as  a  precious  mark  of  his  neigh- 
borly courtesy  by  the  peasantry. 

Such  was  the  simplicity  of  the  man  whose  name  is 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  history  of  science. 
The  great  beginnings  of  the  chapter  on  applied  elec- 
tricity are  all  his.     There  was  nothing  he  touched  in  his 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  185- 

work  that  he  did  not  illuminate.  His  was  typically  the 
mind  of  the  genius,  ever  reaching  out  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  the  known— an  abundant  source  of  lead- 
ing and  light  for  others.  Far  from  being  a  doubter  in 
matters  religious,  his  scientific  greatness  seemed  only  to 
make  him  readier  to  submit  to  what  are  sometimes 
spoken  of  as  the  shackles  of  faith,  though  to  him  belief 
appealed  as  a  completion  of  knowledge  of  things  beyond 
the  domain  of  sense  or  the  ordinary  powers  of  intel- 
lectual acquisition.  Like  Pasteur,  a  century  later,  the 
more  he  knew,  the  more  ready  was  he  to  believe  and  the 
more  satisfying  he  found  his  faith.  This  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent picture  of  the  great  scientific  mind  from  that  or- 
dinarily presented  as  characteristic  of  scientific  thinkers. 
But  Volta  is  not  an  exception  ;  rather  does  he  represent 
the  rule,  so  far  as  the  very  great  scientists  are  con- 
cerned ;  for  it  is  only  the  second-rate  minds,  those 
destined  to  follow  but  not  to  lead,  in  science,  who  have 
so  constantly  proclaimed  the  opposition  of  science  to 
faith. 

Volta' s  well-known  confession  of  faith  declares  his 
state  of  mind  with  regard  to  religion  better  than  any 
words  of  a  biographer,  and  it  is  a  striking  commentary 
on  the  impression  that  has  in  some  inexplicable  way 
gained  wide  acceptance,  that  a  man  cannot  be  a  great 
scientist  and  a  firm  believer  in  religion.  A  distin- 
guished professor  of  psychology  at  one  of  the  large 
American  universities  said  not  long  since,  that  a  scientist 
must  keep  his  science  and  religion  apart,  or  there  will  be 
serious  consequences  for  his  religion,  Volta' s  opinion  in 
this  matter  is  worth  remembering.  Having  heard  it  said 
that,  though  he  continued  to  practice  his  religion,  this 
was  more  because  he  did  not  want  to  offend  friends^ 


186  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

that  he  did  not  care  to  scandalize  his  neighbors,  and  did 
not  want  the  poor  folk  around  him  to  be  led  by  his  ex- 
ample into  giving  up  what  he  knew  to  be  their  most 
fruitful  source  of  consolation  in  the  trials  of  life,  while 
in  the  full  exercise  of  his  intellectual  faculties,  Volta 
deliberately  wrote  out  his  confession  of  faith  so  that  all 
the  world  of  his  own  and  the  after  time  might  know  it. 
"If  some  of  my  faults  and  negligences  may  have  by 
chance  given  occasion  to  some  one  to  suspect  me  of  infi- 
delity, I  am  ready,  as  some  reparation  for  this  and  for 
any  other  good  purpose,  to  declare  to  such  a  one  and  to 
every  other  person  and  on  every  occasion  and  under  all 
circumstances  that  I  have  always  held,  and  hold  now, 
the  Holy  Catholic  Religion  as  the  only  true  and  infalli- 
ble one,  thanking  without  end  the  good  God  for  having 
gifted  me  with  such  a  faith,  in  which  I  firmly  propose 
to  live  and  die,  in  the  lively  hope  of  attaining  eternal  life. 
I  recognize  my  faith  as  a  gift  of  God,  a  supernatural 
faith.  I  have  not,  on  this  account,  however,  neglected 
to  use  all  human  means  that  could  confirm  me  more  and 
more  in  it  and  that  might  drive  away  any  doubt  which 
could  arise  to  tempt  me  in  matters  of  faith.  I  have 
studied  my  faith  with  attention  as  to  its  foundations, 
reading  for  this  purpose  books  of  apologetics  as  well 
as  those  written  with  a  contrary  purpose,  and  trying 
to  appreciate  the  arguments  pro  and  contra.  I  have 
tried  to  realize  from  what  sources  spring  the  strongest 
arguments  which  render  faith  most  credible  to  natural 
reason  and  such  as  cannot  fail  to  make  every  well-bal- 
anced mind  which  has  not  been  perverted  by  vice  or 
passion  embrace  it  and  love  it.  May  this  protest  of 
mine,  which  I  have  deliberately  drawn  up  and  which  I 
leave  to  posterity,  subscribed  with  my  own  hand  and 


VOLTA   THE  FOUNDER  187 

which  shows  to  all  and  everyone  that  I  do  not  blush  at 
the  Gospel— may  it,  as  I  have  said,  produce  some  good 
fruit.  —Signed  at  Milan,  Jan.  6th,  1815,  AlessandroVolta. " 

When  Volta  wrote  this,  he  was  just  approaching  his 
sixtieth  year  and  was  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers. 
He  lived  for  twelve  years  after  this,  looked  up  to  as  one 
of  the  great  thinkers  of  Europe  and  as  one  of  the  most 
important  men  of  Italy  of  this  time.  Far  from  being 
in  his  dotage,  then,  he  was  at  the  moment  surely,  if 
ever,  in  the  best  position  to  know  his  own  mind  with 
regard  to  his  faith  and  his  relations  to  the  Creator. 

There  is  a  famous  picture  of  Volta,  by  Magaud,  in 
Marseilles.  It  chronicles  the  fact  that  Volta  had  be- 
come a  Count,  a  Senator  and  a  Member  of  the  French 
Institute,  so  appointed  by  Napoleon,  and  that  he  is  in 
some  sense  therefore  a  Frenchman.  Magaud  has  painted 
him  standing,  with  his  electric  apparatus  on  one  side 
and  the  Scriptures  on  the  other.  Near  him  is  placed  his 
friend  Sylvio  PeUico,  whose  little  book,  "My  Ten  Years' 
Imprisonment, ' '  has  endeared  him  to  thousands  of  readers 
all  over  the  world.  Pellico  had  doubted  the  presence  of 
Providence  in  the  world  and  the  existence  of  a  here- 
after. In  the  midst  of  his  doubts,  he  turned  to  Volta. 
"In  thy  old  age,  0  Volta!"  said  Pelhco,  "the  hand 
of  Providence  placed  in  thy  pathway  a  young  man  gone 
astray.  Oh  !  thou,  said  I  to  the  ancient  seer,  who  hast 
plunged  deeper  than  others  into  the  secrets  of  the  Crea- 
tor, teach  me  the  road  that  will  lead  me  to  the  light." 
And  the  old  man  made  answer  :  "I  too  have  doubted, 
but  I  have  sought.  The  great  scandal  of  my  youth  was 
to  behold  the  teachers  of  those  days  lay  hold  of  science 
to  combat  religion.  Forme  to-day  I  see  only  God  every- 
where." 


188  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Coulomb. 

Great  discoverers  in  science  must  usually  be  satisfied' 
with  having  their  names  attached  to  some  one  phase  of 
scientific  development,  be  it  an  instrument,  a  law,  a 
unit  of  measurement,  a  process  of  investigation  or  some 
phenomenon  which  they  first  observed.  The  originality 
of  Coulomb's  genius  will  be  better  appreciated,  since 
besides  having  a  unit  of  electricity  named  after  him, 
there  is  also  a  law  in  electro-magnetics  and  a  torsion- 
balance  that  will  always  be  associated  with  his  name. 
Few  men  have  been  more  ingenious  in  their  ability  to 
put  complex  ideas  into  practical  shape  and  give  them 
simple  mechanical  expression  by  instrumental  methods. 
While  his  name  is  to  be  forever  associated  with  the 
science  of  electrostatics,  he  was  profoundly  interested 
in  other  departments  of  physics,  and  for  him  to  be 
interested  always  meant  that  he  would  illuminate 
previous  knowledge  by  practical  hints  and  suggestions 
and  carry  the  conclusions  of  his  predecessors  a  little 
farther  into  science  than  they  had  ever  gone  before. 
His  was  typically  an  experimental  genius,  and  he  must  be 
considered  one  of  the  men  of  whom  not  more  than  half 
a  dozen  are  born  in  a  century,  who  are,  in  Kipling's 
strong  term,  "  masterless " ;  who  do  not  need  to  be 
taught,  but  who  find  for  themselves  a  path  into  the 
domain  of  the  unknown. 


COULOMB  189 

Coulomb  investigated  the  fundamental  law  in  electric- 
ity and  magnetism,  that  attractions  and  repulsions  are 
inversely  as  the  square  of  the  distances,  and  showed 
that  it  held  accurately  for  point-charges  and  point- 
poles.  He  demonstrated  that  these  interesting  phe- 
nomena were  not  chance  manifestations  of  irregular 
forces,  but  that  they  represented  a  definite  mode  of 
action  of  force,  thus  setting  this  department  of  knowl- 
edge on  a  scientific  basis.  While  in  practical  signifi- 
cance Ohm's  Law,  discovered  nearly  a  half  century 
later,  is  of  much  more  import,  Coulomb's  discoveries 
are  fundamental  in  character  and,  coming  in  the  very 
beginnings  of  modern  electrical  science,  did  much  to 
guide  the  infant  science  in  the  ways  it  should  follow. 
The  establishing  of  this  law  contributed  very  largely  to 
the  rapid  development  of  the  twin  sciences  of  electricity 
and  magnetism.  It  is  experimental  observation  that 
means  most  for  a  rising  science;  and,  in  fact,  that 
Coulomb  should  have  been  the  pioneer  in  it  stamps  him 
as  possessed  not  only  of  great  originality,  but  also  of 
the  power  of  independent  thinking,  which  is  perhaps 
the  most  precious  quality  for  the  man  of  science. 

The  French  investigator  succeeded  in  demonstrating 
liis  law  by  two  distinct  methods  which  are  still  used  for 
illustration  purposes  in  our  physical  laboratories.  In 
the  first,  he  employed  the  torsion-balance  devised  by 
Michell,  and  re-invented  by  himself,  an  instrument  of 
exact  measurement  which,  in  his  hands,  yielded  as  in- 
valuable results  as  it  did  in  those  of  Faraday  half  a 
century  later.  The  instrument  depends  on  the  principle 
first  established  by  Coulomb  himself,  that  when  a  wire 
is  twisted,  the  angle  of  torsion  is  directly  proportional 
to  the  force  of  torsion.     In  the  application  of  this  prin- 


190  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ciple,  a  fine  wire  is  suspended  in  a  glass  case,  on  the 
sides  of  which  there  is  a  graduated  scale  to  measure  the 
degree  of  repulsion  between  two  like  poles  of  a  magnet 
or  between  similarly  electrified  bodies. 

In  his  second  research  on  the  law  of  the  inverse 
square,  Coulomb  used  what  is  known  as  the  method  of 
oscillations.  A  magnetic  needle  swinging  under  the 
influence  of  the  earth's  magnetism  is  known  to  act  like 
a  pendulum,  and  as  such  obeys  the  laws  of  pendular 
motion.  In  applying  this  method,  Coulomb  caused  the 
magnetic  needle  to  oscillate,  first,  under  the  influence 
of  the  earth's  magnetism  alone  and  then  under  the  com- 
bined influence  of  the  earth  and  the  magnet  placed  at 
varying  distances  from  the  needle.  The  most  interest- 
ing feature  of  this  work  is  the  manner  in  which  Coulomb 
succeeded  in  eliminating  the  important  factor  of  the 
earth's  magnetism  from  the  problem.  It  is  so  simple- 
and  ingenious  that  it  commands  the  admiration  of  inves- 
tigators, who  employ  it  in  their  laboratory  work  even 
to  the  present  day. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  International  Committee 
which  selected  the  term  coulomb  for  the  electro- 
magnetic unit  of  electrical  quantity  gave  honor  where 
it  was  eminently  due.  Coulomb  stands  out  as  a  man 
of  precision  and  accuracy,  whose  methods  of  exact 
measurement  revolutionized  the  rising  science,  and 
whose  researches  and  discoveries  in  physics  and 
mechanics  furnish  ample  justification  for  giving  him  a 
place  among  the  makers  of  electricity.  He  was  one  of 
the  gifted  men  whose  original  works  ushered  in  so 
gloriously  the  nineteenth  century,  and  who  laid  the 
deep  and  firm  foundations  on   which  the  last  three 


COULOMB  191 

generations  have  built  up  the  magnificent  temple  of 
electrical  science. 

Charles  Augustin  de  Coulomb  was  born  at  Angouleme, 
June  14th,  1736.  His  ancestors  for  several  generations 
had  been  magistrates,  and  were  looked  upon  as  repre- 
sentatives of  the  country  nobility.  He  made  his  uni- 
versity studies  in  Paris,  and  while  still  young,  entered 
the  army.  From  the  very  beginning,  however,  his 
genius  for  mathematics  was  recognized,  and  he  was 
employed  in  the  capacity  of  military  engineer.  To 
Americans,  it  will  be  interesting  to  know  that  his  first 
engineering  project  was  undertaken  at  Martinique, 
where  he  constructed  Fort  Bourbon.  His  sterling  char- 
acter and  remarkable  ability  secured  him  rapid  advance- 
ment in  the  service.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
climate  did  not  agree  with  him,  he  remained  for  three 
years  on  the  island,  because  he  would  not  employ  the 
political  influence  that  might  have  secured  his  recall, 
since  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  serve  his  country  in  an 
important  colonial  post.  Nearly  all  his  comrades  per- 
ished by  fever.  It  is  the  irony  of  fate  that  after  his 
return  to  France  a  change  in  the  ministry  deprived  him 
of  the  just  recompense  of  his  devotion  to  country,  and 
he  did  not  receive  the  special  extraordinary  promotion 
which  he  had  earned  in  this  special  detail. 

During  a  short  stay  that  he  made  at  Paris  after  his 
return,  he  sought  the  society  of  men  of  science  as  far  as 
possible,  and  succeeded  in  getting  in  touch  with  all  that 
was  most  promising  in  scientific  progress  at  the  time. 
He  was  already  known  rather  favorably  by  many  of  the 
scientific  men  of  the  capital  because  of  the  paper  on 
The  Statics  of  Vaults,  a  monograph  on  static  problems 
in  architecture,  which  he  presented  to  the  Academy  of 


192  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Sciences  in  1779.  His  next  military  assignment  was  to 
Rochefort.  Here  he  composed  his  monograph  on  "The 
Theory  of  Simple  Machines,"  which  carried  off  the 
double  prize  that  had  been  offered  by  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  for  the  solution  of  problems  connected  with 
this  important  question.  This  attracted  the  attention 
not  only  of  the  scientific  world,  but  also  of  his  mihtary 
superiors.  As  a  result,  he  was  sent  successively  to 
Cherburg  and  to  the  Isle  of  Aix,  to  direct  engineering 
works,  and  accomplished  the  tasks  involved  with  suc- 
cess. 

Two  years  later,  when  he  was  about  forty-five  years 
of  age,  he  was  elected  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences by  a  unanimous  vote.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
personal  magnetism,  and  all  those  who  came  in  contact 
with  him  learned  to  like  him  for  his  straightforward 
character  and  for  the  absolute  righteousness  of  his  life. 
Few  men  have  made  firmer  friends  than  Coulomb,  as 
few  have  ever  shown  more  unselfish  devotion  to  duty 
and  to  conscience  than  he,  though  under  circumstances 
that  were  neither  spectacular  nor  theatrical.  It  was 
harder  to  face  the  deadly  climate  of  Martinique  than  it 
would  have  been  to  take  one's  place  at  the  head  of  a 
forlorn  hope  in  an  outburst  of  enthusiastic  courage ;  and 
Coulomb  was  to  have  other  trials  of  quite  as  deterrent 
a  nature,  and  was  to  meet  them  with  the  same  imper- 
turbed  sense  of  duty. 

Graft  is  sometimes  supposed  to  be  temptation  peculiar 
only  to  our  own  times,  but  the  opportunities  for  it  have 
always  been  present  in  such  work  as  Coulomb  had  to 
oversee,  and  the  army  engineer  of  all  ages  has  had  to 
stand  or  fall  before  it.  It  was  proposed,  about  this 
time,  to  build  a  system  of  government  canals  in  Britt- 


COULOMB  193 

any.  Such  a  canal-system  would,  as  is  easy  to  under- 
stand, cost  an  enormous  sum  of  money  and  give  mag- 
nificent opportunities  for  speculation  of  various  kinds. 
No  small  objection  had  been  made  to  the  project,  on  the 
score  that  it  would  not  confer  all  the  benefits  on  the 
region  that  were  claimed  for  it,  and  Coulomb  was  com- 
missioned by  the  Minister  of  Marine  to  determine  the 
question  of  the  advisability  of  constructing  the  canals, 
and  of  the  probable  effect  which  they  would  have  on  the 
commerce  of  the  country. 

After  careful  investigation,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  advantages  which  were  expected  to  accrue 
from  the  project  would  not  compensate  for  the  enor- 
mous expense  that  would  be  entailed.  This  decision 
aroused  the  angry  protest  of  a  strong  political  faction, 
who  expected  to  reap  wealth  and  personal  advantages 
of  many  kinds  from  the  scheme,  and  who  protested  bit- 
terly against  Coulomb's  report.  He  was  able  to  support 
his  conclusions  in  the  matter,  however,  with  such  un- 
answerable mathematical  and  engineering  arguments, 
that  his  opinion  prevailed  and  the  project  was  given  up. 

As  a  consequence,  instead  of  the  opportunity  to  serve 
a  political  party  with  every  avenue  to  preferment  and, 
above  all,  to  wealth  open  for  him,  he  found  himself,  for 
the  time  being,  deprived  even  of  the  opportunity  to 
devote  himself  further  to  his  favorite  occupations  in 
military  engineering.  The  excuse  given  for  this  inter- 
ruption in  his  career,  for  there  has  always  been  an 
excuse  for  such  action,  was  that  proper  representations 
for  permission  to  make  the  report  had  not  been  made  to 
the  Minister  of  Marine  ;  and  instead  of  commendation, 
•Coulomb  received  what  was  practically  a  reprimand. 

Wounded  by  this  injustice,  which  was  manifestly  due 


194  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

to  the  fact  that  his  honest  report  had  displeased  those 
who  expected  to  reap  personal  benefit  from  the  canal 
project,  and  disgusted  wit^i  a  service  in  which  such 
things  were  possible,  Coulomb  sent  in  his  resignation. 
The  Minister  of  Marine  realized  that  the  acceptance 
of  the  proffered  resignation  would  surely  expose  the 
ministry  at  least  to  suspicion  as  to  the  reasons  why 
Coulomb's  report  was  not  accepted  with  good  grace. 
Permission  to  retire  from  the  service  was  refused,  as 
this  would  insure  his  silence.  He  was  ordered  back  to 
Brittany  to  continue  his  work  there,  possibly  with  the 
idea  that  this  unfavorable  experience  would  be  sufficient 
of  itself  to  make  him  understand  what  was  expected  of 
him  and  render  him  a  little  more  complacent  to  the 
wishes  of  those  in  authority.  If  any  such  ideas  were 
entertained,  they  were  destined  to  grievous  disappoint- 
ment. Coulomb  was  not  of  those  who,  seeing  duty 
plainly,  refuse  to  follow  it  because  some  personal  ad- 
vantage or  disadvantage  intervenes.  Selfish  reasons 
did  not  appeal  to  his  character  nor  obscure  the  issues. 
He  went  back  to  Brittany,  ready  to  express  his  firm 
opinion  in  the  matter  and  with  integrity  of  soul  un- 
touched. The  consequence  was  that  the  provincial 
authorities,  recognizing  their  true  interests,  acknowl- 
edged the  error  they  had  come  near  falling  into,  and 
now  wished  to  reward  the  engineer  handsomely  for  his 
unswerving  devotion  to  duty.  Coulomb  as  promptly 
refused  a  reward  for  doing  his  duty  as  he  had  ignored 
even  the  appearance  of  a  bribe  to  avoid  it.  Only  after 
considerable  pressure  was  he  prevailed  upon  to  accept 
the  best  timepiece  they  could  procure,  on  which  the 
arms  of  the  province  were  engraved.  It  had  what  was 
quite  rare  in  those  days,  a  second's  hand,  and  he  con- 


COULOMB  195 

stantly  made  use  of  this  in  all  his  experimental  work 
thereafter.  A  French  biographer  says  that,  never  was 
a  souvenir  better  chosen  nor  more  suitably  employed. 
Coulomb's  merits  were  recognized  by  the  government 
authorities  not  long  after,  and  he  was  made  superin- 
tendent of  the  fountains  of  France.  A  few  years  later, 
he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  Curator  of  Plans 
and  Relief  Maps  of  the  Military  Staff  of  France,  and 
was  chosen  as  one  of  the  commission  of  the  French 
Academy  of  Sciences  who  went  to  England  in  order  to 
study  hospital  conditions  there.  At  this  time,  he  was 
at  the  acme  of  his  career.  His  grade  was  that  of  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  of  Engineers,  a  position  much  higher  in 
the  foreign  armies  at  that  time  than  would  be  the  post 
with  the  corresponding  title  in  our  army.  He  had  been 
made  a  Chevalier  of  St.  Louis,  and  it  looked  as  though 
a  brilliant  future  were  opening  out  before  him.  Each 
year,  for  a  decade,  had  seen  the  publication  of  one  or 
more  memoirs  on  important  subjects,  nearly  every  one 
of  which  contained  some  original  material  of  the  highest 
value,  destined  not  only  to  add  to  Coulomb's  reputation, 
but  to  furnish  basic  information  for  the  further  devel- 
opment of  science. 

In  1789,  however,  the  Revolution  broke  out,  and  there 
was  an  end  to  all  Coulomb's  opportunities  for  work.  He 
was  utterly  out  of  sympathy  with  the  movement,  the 
worst  consequences  of  which  he  foresaw  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  he  at  once  handed  in  his  resignation  of  the 
various  positions  that  he  occupied  under  the  government. 
He  went  into  almost  absolute  retirement,  devoting  him- 
self to  the  education  of  his  children.  During  this  time, 
however,  he  did  not  cease  to  cultivate  science,  inasmuch 
as  he  gave  the  finishing  touch  to  various  papers  whicli 


196  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

he  had  previously  outlined.  Unfortunately,  however,  his 
departure  from  Paris  made  it  impossible  for  him  to 
continue  his  investigations  in  electricity  for  want  of  ap- 
paratus, and  so  there  is  a  ten  years'  interruption  in  his 
life  of  scientific  activity  and  of  original  work.  Besides, 
it  cannot  be  surprising  that  he  should  not  have  had  the 
heart  to  go  on  with  his  work  under  the  awful  social 
conditions  that  prevailed.  Many  of  his  friends  lost  their 
lives  during  the  stormy  period  of  the  Revolution ;  most 
of  the  others  were  banished  or  were  in  hiding.  His  be- 
loved country  had  gone  into  an  unfortunate  eclipse,  as 
he  could  not  help  but  consider  it ;  most  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth  were  indeed  in  league  against  her,  and  the 
end  was  not  yet  in  sight.  It  would  be  too  much  to  ex- 
pect of  human  nature  that  it  should  devote  itself  to 
abstruse  problems  in  science  at  moments  of  such  dis- 
turbance as  this,  and  so  some  of  the  possibilities  of 
Coulomb's  original  genius  were  lost  to  science  during 
that  calamitous  period. 

Like  many  of  the  great  discoveries  of  science,  Cou- 
lomb's most  important  work  was  done  in  the  course  of 
other  investigations,  and  came  by  what  might  be  called 
a  happy  accident.  He  had  been  investigating  the  quali- 
ties of  wire  of  various  kinds,  especially  with  regard  to 
their  elasticity,  so  as  to  be  able  to  determine  the  limits 
of  their  use  in  various  engineering  projects.  When  he 
discovered  that  the  elasticity  of  torsion  of  a  wire  was  a 
constant  property,  he  proceeded  to  utilize  it  in  the  cal- 
culation of  such  delicate  phenomena  as  those  of  elec- 
tric and  magnetic  forces.  The  first  instrument  for  this 
purpose  that  he  constructed  consisted  simply  of  a  long 
magnetized  needle  suspended  horizontally  by  a  fine 
wire.     Supposing  this  needle  to  be  at  rest,  if  one  moves 


COULOMB  197 

it  away  from  the  magnetic  meridian  by  a  certain  num- 
ber of  degrees,  the  twisted  wire  will  have  a  definite 
tendency  to  untwist  and  to  bring  back  the  needle  to  its 
original  position  by  a  series  of  oscillations  whose  fre- 
quency can  be  readily  observed. 

For  such  observations,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  the  value 
of  the  force  acting  on  the  needle  and  causing  it  to  move 
to  and  fro  at  a  given  rate.  This  was  the  underlying 
idea  which  received  very  simple  expression  in  the  in- 
genious instrument  which  Coulomb  devised  and  called  a 
torsion-balance.  With  it,  he  set  about  determining  the 
law  which  governs  the  mutual  action  of  magnets  and 
of  electrified  bodies  with  regard  to  distance,  and  found  it 
to  be  the  same  as  that  which  Newton  found  to  hold  for 
bodies  distributed  throughout  the  universe,  that  is,  that 
attraction  and  repulsion  vary  inversely  as  the  square  of 
the  distance.  He  also  proved,  with  the  aid  of  his  tor- 
sion-balance, that  the  forces  of  attraction  and  repulsion 
vary  as  the  product  of  the  strength  of  the  poles  in  one 
case  and  as  the  product  of  the  electric  charges  in  the 
other.  These  were  the  important  discoveries  of  Cou- 
lomb's life ;  they  served  to  earn  for  him  the  right  to 
have  his  name  given  to  the  unit  of  electrical  quantity, 
the  coulomb. 

Coulomb  did  not  stop  here,  however,  but  proceeded  to 
apply  his  laws  to  various  other  phenomena.  He  proved 
that  electricity  distributes  itself  entirely  over  the  surface 
of  a  body  without  penetrating  the  mass  of  the  con- 
ductor, and  he  showed  by  calculation  that  this  result 
was  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  law  of  repulsion. 

A  list  of  the  papers  which  he  published  on  electricity 
and  magnetism,  the  titles  of  which,  with  French  accur- 
acy of  expression,  furnish  an  excellent  idea  of  their  con- 


198  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

tents,  shows  the  thoroughly  progressive  and  scientific 
spirit  of  the  man,  and  how  well  he  proceeded  from  the 
known  to  the  less  known,  always  widening  the  bounds 
of  knowledge.  Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  the  observa- 
tions of  Coulomb  were  not  only  original,  but  that  they 
concerned  some  of  the  most  difficult  questions  in  elec- 
tricity, and  that  he  was  clearing  the  ground  for  others 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  future  work  and  quantitative 
measurements  in  electricity  reliable  and  comparatively 
easy.  It  is  because  of  this  pioneer  work  that  Coulomb 
deserves  so  much  praise.  It  was  not  long  before  Cou- 
lomb's observations  were  confirmed  by  others,  and  then 
the  beginnings  of  the  modern  development  of  elec- 
tricity became  manifest,  owing  not  a  little  to  the 
researches  and  inventions,  the  genius  and  ingenuity  of 
this  French  military  engineer. 

Some  phases  of  electrical  development  attributed  to 
others  really  belong  to  Coulomb.  A  typical  example  of 
this  detraction  from  his  merit  is  the  attribution  to  Biot 
of  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  complete  discharge 
of  an  electrified  sphere  by  means  of  two  hollow  hemi- 
spheres. This  experiment  is  fully  described  by  Cou- 
lomb, and  he  even  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  ex- 
ternal discharging  bodies  need  not  necessarily  be  of  the 
same  shape  as  the  charged  sphere.  Some  of  what 
Coulomb  accepted  as  principles  in  electricity  have  proved 
in  the  course  of  time,  not  to  be  the  realities  that  he 
thought  them ;  but  the  progress  that  has  led  to  such 
contradictions  of  his  opinions  has  been  mainly  rendered 
possible  by  his  own  discoveries.  The  fable  of  the  eagle 
stricken  by  the  arrow  containing  some  of  its  own  feath- 
ers, is  so  old  that  one  might  think  that,  when  the 
progress  of  a  science  due  to  a  scientist  brings  men  be- 


COULOMB  199 

yond  the  position  he  occupied,  they  would  not  blame  him 
for  backwardness.  This  is,  however,  one  of  the  curious 
critical  methods  in  the  history  of  science  that  has  most 
frequently  to  be  deprecated  by  the  historian  who  is 
tracing  origins  and  developments. 

Coulomb's  papers,  with  the  exception  of  his  memoir 
on  "Problems  in  Statics  Applied  to  Architecture,"  his 
'  *  Researches  on  the  Methods  of  executing  Works  under 
Water  without  the  Necessity  of  Pumping,"  his  "Theory 
of  Simple  Machines,"  and  his  researches  "On  Wind- 
mills," which  form  separate  monographs,  were  all  pub- 
lished together  in  a  single  volume  by  the  French  Physi- 
cal Society  in  1884.  ^ 

This  volume  contains,  besides  his  investigations  on 
the  best  way  of  making  magnetic  needles,  his  theoretic 
and  experimental  investigations  on  the  force  of  torsion 
and  on  the  elasticity  of  metallic  threads,  which  were 
undertaken  in  order  to  enable  him  to  make  his  electric 
torsion-balance  something  more  than  mere  guess-work. 
All  the  other  papers  are  concerned  directly  with  elec- 
tricity or  magnetism,  and  show  how  actively,  nearly  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago,  a  great  mind  was 
engaged  with  problems  in  electricity  which  we  are  apt 
to  consider  as  belonging  more  properly  to  our  own  time. 
The  list  of  papers  published  in  these  memoirs,  arranged 
in  chronological  order,  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  devel- 
opment of  electrical  science  in  Coulomb's  own  mind. 
There  is  a  logical  as  well  as  a  chronological  order  to  be 
observed  in  them. 

In  1785,  when  he  was  just  approaching  his  fiftieth 

1  Collection  de  Memoires  relatifs  a  La  Physique  Publics  Par  la  Societe  Frangaise 
de  Physique.  Tome  I. ,  Memoires  de  Coulomb.  Paris,  Gauthier-Villars,  Imprimeur- 
Libraire  Du  Bureau  des  Longitudes,  de  L'lScole  Polytechnique,  Qua!  des  Ausnistins, 
56,  1884. 


200  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

year,  there  were  three  subjects  with  regard  to  which 
Coulomb's  experimental  observations  enabled  him  to  set 
down  some  definite  principles.  The  first  of  these  was 
the  construction  and  use  of  an  electric  balance,  founded 
on  the  property  which  wires  have  of  exhibiting  a  torque 
proportional  to  the  angle  of  torsion.  The  second  was 
the  determination  of  the  laws,  according  to  which  the 
magnetic  and  electric  "fluids,"  as  Coulomb  and  investi- 
gators in  electricity  called  them  at  that  time,  act  both 
as  regards  repulsion  and  attraction.  The  third  was  the 
determination  of  the  quantity  of  electricity  which  an 
insulated  body  loses  in  a  given  time  from  contact  with 
air  more  or  less  moist. 

In  1786,  he  published  a  paper  in  which  he  demon- 
strated what  he  considered  the  principal  properties  of 
the  electric  fluid.  These  are,  that  this  fluid  does  not 
spread  itself  on  a  substance  by  any  chemical  affinity 
or  any  elective  attraction,  but  that  it  distributes  itself 
over  various  bodies  that  are  placed  in  contact,  entirely 
in  accordance  with  their  shape ;  and  also  that  in  elec- 
trical conductors,  the  charge  is  limited  to  the  surface  of 
the  conductor  and  does  not  penetrate  to  any  appreciable 
depth. 

In  1787,  his  only  paper  was  on  the  manner  in  which 
the  electrical  fluid  divides  itself  between  two  conducting 
bodies  placed  in  contact,  and  on  the  distribution  of  this- 
fluid  over  the  different  parts  of  the  surface  of  these 
bodies.  He  continued  his  investigations  into  this  sub- 
ject in  1788,  and  also  succeeded  in  determining  the 
density  of  the  electricity  at  different  points  on  the  sur- 
face of  conducting  bodies. 

In  1789,  he  began  to  work  more  particularly  on  mag- 
netism.   His  first  paper  on  the  subject  was  published! 


COULOMB  201- 

that  year.  Unfortunately,  as  we  have  said,  the  Revo- 
lution interrupted  his  scientific  investigations  at  this 
point,  and  for  the  next  eleven  years  we  have  nothing 
from  his  pen.  As  a  nobleman,  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  Paris,  and  this  not  only  put  him  out  of  touch  with 
scientific  work  generally,  but  deprived  him  of  the  oppor- 
tunities of  using  such  apparatus  as  was  necessary  to 
carry  on  his  experiments.  That  he  acted  prudently  in 
leaving  Paris,  the  careers  of  other  scientists  amply 
prove.  Lavoisier  continued  to  carry  on  his  chemical 
investigations  during  the  stormy  times  of  the  Revolution, 
but  his  stay  in  the  capital  eventually  cost  him  his  life. 
Abbe  Hauy,  the  father  of  crystallography,  ^  who,  because 
of  his  contributions  to  the  science  of  pyro-electricity,  is  of 
special  interest  to  us,  continued  to  work  at  his  crystals 
throughout  even  the  Reign  of  Terror.  When  thrown  into 
prison,  he  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  have  his 
crystals  with  him.  His  friends  saved  him  from  Lavoi- 
sier's fate,  but  not  without  an  effort,  as  his  life  was 
seriously  endangered. 

It  is  easy  to  understand,  however,  that  a  member  of 
the  nobility  like  Coulomb,  whose  life  had  been  spent  in 
military  affairs,  should  not  be  able  to  devote  himself 
seriously  to  scientific  matters  while  his  country  was  in 
such  a  turmoil. 

In  1801,  he  resumed  his  investigations  once  more,  but 
now  they  are  concerned  more  particularly  with  mag- 
netism. The  first  was  a  theoretical  and  practical  de- 
termination of  the  forces  which  hold  different  magnetic 
needles,  magnetized  to  saturation,  in  the  magnetic 
meridian.  This  was  followed,  in  the  same  year,  by  a 
paper  which,  like  its  predecessor,  was  published  among: 

1  Catholic  Churchmen  in  Science,  the  Dolphin  Press,  Philadelphia,  1906. 


202  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  memoirs  of  the  Institute  of  France,  which  had  re- 
placed the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  to  which  body 
many  of  Coulomb's  papers  of  the  former  time  had  been 
presented,  and  in  whose  publications  they  originally 
appeared.  This  second  paper  detailed  his  experiments 
on  the  determination  of  the  force  of  cohesion  of  fluids 
and  the  law  of  resistance  in  them,  when  the  movements 
were  very  slow. 

When  the  French  Institute  was  organized  under 
Napoleon  in  1801,  Coulomb  was  named  among  its  first 
members.  It  is  believed  that  he  was  even  chosen  to 
occupy  a  place  in  the  first  government  of  the  state,  but 
a  man  more  interested  in  politics  obtained  the  place, 
a  fortunate  circumstance  for  science.  Coulomb  was 
named,  however,  one  of  the  inspectors  of  public  instruc- 
tion, then  the  highest  place  in  the  education  department, 
and  he  did  much  to  restore  to  France  the  educational 
system  that  had  been  destroyed  during  the  Revolution. 
In  this  rather  trying  work  he  was  noted  for  the  kindli- 
ness yet  firmness  of  his  character,  while  his  absolute 
fairness  and  sense  of  justice  were  recognized  on  all 
sides. 

Unfortunately  Coulomb  was  not  long  spared  to  con- 
tinue his  work.  He  took  up  his  experimental  and 
mathematical  investigations,  on  his  return  to  the  capital, 
with  great  enthusiasm,  but  his  health  had  been  under- 
mined and  his  work  had  been  rudely  interrupted.  After 
1801,  no  further  paper  by  him  appears  to  have  been  pub- 
lished until  1806.  This  gave  the  result  of  different 
methods  employed  in  order  to  produce  in  blades  and 
bars  of  steel  the  greatest  degree  of  magnetism.  For 
some  time  preceding  this,  in  spite  of  increasing  ill- 
health,  he  had  continued  his  experiments  on  the  in- 


COULOMB  203 

iiuence  of  temperature  on  the  magnetism,  of  steel. 
His  work  on  this  subject  was  not  destined  to  be  com- 
pleted, for  not  long  after  passing  his  seventieth  year, 
in  June  of  this  year,  his  health  gave  way  completely, 
and  he  died  August  23d,  1806.  His  final  observations 
were  gathered  by  Biot,  carefully  preserved,  and  assigned 
a  place  in  the  volume  of  Coulomb's  Memoirs,  issued  by 
the  French  Physical  Society. 

Personally,  Coulomb  was  noted  for  great  seriousness 
of  character,  though  with  this  was  mingled  a  gentleness 
-of  disposition  that  made  for  him  some  cordial  friend- 
ships among  his  scientific  contemporaries.  He  had  but 
few  friends,  but  those  who  were  admitted  to  his  inti- 
macy made  up  by  the  depth  of  their  affection  for  the 
smallness  of  their  number.  Even  those  who  had  occa- 
sion to  meet  him  but  once  or  twice,  carried  away  from 
their  meeting  an  affectionate  remembrance  of  his  kind- 
liness and  courtesy  and  readiness  to  help  wherever  he 
could  be  of  service.  He  was  extremely  happy  in  his 
family  relations,  and  this  proved  to  be  a  ^reat  source  of 
•consolation  to  him  during  the  years  when  the  progress 
of  the  French  Revolution  took  him  away  from  science 
and  made  him  almost  despair  of  his  country. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Biot,  the  great  French  physi- 
cist, in  writing  of  Coulomb  in  his  Melanges  Scientifiques 
et  Litteraires,  Vol.  HI.  (Paris,  1858),  should  have  held 
Coulomb  up  as  a  model  of  the  simple,  earnest,  helpful 
life  and  as  a  man  of  the  most  exemplary  character.  He 
says:  "Coulomb  lived  among  the  men  of  his  time  in 
patience  and  charity.  He  was  distinguished  among 
them  mainly  by  his  separation  from  their  passions  and 
their  errors,  and  he  always  maintained  himself  calm, 
firm  and  dignified  in  se  totus  teres  atque  rotundus,  as 


204  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Horace  says,  a  complete,  perfect  and  well-rounded  char- 
acter." Few  men  have  deserved  so  noble  a  eulogy  as 
this,  written  nearly  fifty  years  after  his  death,  by  one 
who  had  known  Coulomb  himself  and  his  contemporaries 
well ;  it  has  none  of  the  exaggeration  of  a  funeral  pan- 
egyric, and  is  evidently  founded  on  details  of  knowledge 
with  regard  to  the  great  electrician  which  had  become  a 
tradition  among  French  scientists,  and  which  Biot  has 
forever  crystallized  into  the  history  of  science  by  his 
emphatic  expression. 

One  could  scarcely  wish  for  a  better  epitaph  than 
Biot's  summing  up  of  Coulomb's  personal  character: 
"All  those  who  knew  Coulomb  know  how  the  gravity 
of  his  character  was  tempered  by  the  sweetness  of  his 
disposition,  and  those  who  had  the  happiness  to  meet 
him  at  their  entrance  into  a  scientific  career  have  kept 
the  most  tender  remembrance  of  his  gentle  good-heart- 
edness." 


HANS  CHRISTIAN  OERSTED 


HANS  CHRISTIAN  OERSTED  205 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Hans  Christian  Oersted. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  value  of  controversy 
in  other  departments  of  knowledge,  it  has  certainly 
proved  useful  in  the  progress  of  experimental  science. 
Witness  the  animated  and  prolonged  discussion  which 
took  place  between  Volta  and  Galvani,  and  which  led  to 
enduring  results  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  Wishing 
to  prove  the  correctness  of  his  theory  of  electrification 
by  contact  against  Galvani's  animal  electricity,  Volta 
devoted  himself  unremittingly  to  experimentation  until, 
in  the  century  year  1800,  his  brilliant  work  culminated 
in  the  invention  of  the  "pile "  or  electric  battery  which 
bears  his  name. 

A  suspicion  had  been  growing  for  many  years  in  the 
minds  of  physicists,  that  there  must  be  some  degree  of 
relationship,  probably  an  intimate  one,  between  mag- 
netism and  electricity,  between  magnetic  and  electric 
forces.  In  the  year  1785,  van  Swinden,  a  celebrated 
Dutch  physicist,  published  a  work  on  electricity  in 
which  he  described  and  commented  upon  a  number  of 
analogies  which  he  had  observed  between  the  two 
orders  of  phenomena ;  but,  voluminous  as  was  the  work, 
it  threw  no  light  on  the  nature  of  the  suspected  rela- 
tionship. 

It  was  well  known,  in  the  case  of  houses  and  ships 
struck  by  lightning,  that  knives,  forks  and  other  articles 


206  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

made  of  steel  were  often  found  to  be  permanently  mag- 
netized. Following  up  this  pregnant  observation,  ex- 
perimenters often  sought  to  impart  magnetic  properties 
to  steel  needles  by  Leyden-jar  discharges,  but  with 
indifferent  success.  Sometimes  there  would  be  a  trace 
of  magnetism  left  and  sometimes  none.  In  no  case  was 
it  possible  to  say  beforehand  which  end  of  the  knitting- 
needle  would  have  north  polarity  and  which  south. 

Though  we  are  better  equipped  to-day  for  research 
work  than  were  our  predecessors  in  the  electrical  field 
fifty  years  ago,  we  are  still  unable  to  predict  the  polar- 
ity that  will  result  in  a  bar  of  iron  from  a  given  con- 
denser discharge.  The  uncertainty  arises  from  the 
fact  disclosed  by  Joseph  Henry  in  1842  and  well  known 
to-day  that,  under  ordinary  cicumstances,  all  such  dis- 
charges consist  of  a  rush  of  electricity  to  and  fro,  that 
is,  they  give  rise  to  an  oscillatory  current  of  exceedingly 
short  duration.  Were  it  otherwise,  that  is,  were  the 
discharge  unidirectional,  the  needle  would  always  be 
magnetized  to  a  degree  of  intensity  proportional  to  the 
energy  released  ;  and  it  would  be  possible  in  every  case 
to  foretell  with  certainty  the  resulting  polarity  which 
the  needle  would  acquire. 

With  the  advent  of  the  voltaic  battery,  a  generator 
which  supplies  a  steady  flow  of  current  in  one  direction, 
the  interesting  problem  of  relationship  between  electric 
and  magnetic  forces  was  again  attacked  ;  and  this  time 
with  considerable  success. 

Probably  the  earliest  investigator  afield  was  Romag- 
nosi,  an  Italian  physician  residing  in  Trent  (Tyrol), 
who,  in  the  year  1802,  published  in  the  "Gazetta"  of 
his  town  an  account  of  an  experiment  which  he  had 
made,  and  which  showed  that  he  was  working  on  prom- 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  207 

ising  lines.  What  he  did  was  this :  having  connected 
one  end  of  a  silver  chain  to  a  voltaic  pile,  and  having 
carried  the  chain  through  a  glass  tube  for  the  purpose 
of  insulation,  he  presented  the  free  end,  terminating  in 
a  knob,  to  a  compass-needle,  also  insulated.  At  first, 
the  needle  was  attracted ;  and,  after  contact,  repelled. 
Whatever  Romagnosi  thought  of  his  experiment  and  its 
theoretical  bearing,  the  attraction  and  subsequent  re- 
pulsion of  the  compass-needle  which  he  said  he  observed 
were  electrostatic  and  not  electromagnetic  effects.  The 
Italian  physician  was  indeed  on  the  verge  of  a  great 
discovery;  but  he  halted  in  his  course  and  lost  his 
opportunity. 

Mojon,  Professor  of  chemistry  in  Genoa,  was  a  little 
more  fortunate,  though  he,  too,  failed  to  improve  his 
opportunities.  In  1804,  he  sought  to  magnetize  steel 
needles  by  placing  them  for  a  period  of  twenty  days  in 
circuit  with  a  battery  of  one  hundred  elements  of  the 
crown-of-cups  type,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding^ 
ithem  permanently  magnetized  when  withdrawn  from 
the  circuit.  Unlike  the  electrostatic  effect  of  his  fellow- 
countryman  Romagnosi,  this  was  unquestionably  an 
electromagnetic  effect,  the  first  link  in  the  long  chain 
connecting  electricity  with  magnetism. 

That  this  result  attracted  wide  attention  at  the  time, 
as  it  well  deserved,  is  evident  from  the  notice  given  by 
Izarn  in  his  "Manuel  du  Galvanisme,"  and  by  Aldini 
in  his  "Essai  Theorique  et  experimental  sur  le  Galvan- 
isme,"  both  of  which  were  published  in  Paris  in  the 
same  year,  1804. 

Though  the  manuals  of  Izarn  and  Aldini  served  to 
give  a  fresh  impetus  to  the  quest  of  the  relationship  be- 
tween electricity  and  magnetism,  it  was  not,  however, 


-208  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

until  the  year  1820  that  the  cardinal  discovery  was  made 
by  one  philosopher  and  the  intimate  relationship  re- 
vealed by  another.  Then  all  Europe  rang  with  the 
names  of  Oersted,  the  fortunate  discoverer  of  the 
"  magnetic  effect "  of  the  electric  current,  and  Ampere, 
whose  masterly  analysis  disclosed  the  nature  of  the 
long-sought-for  connection.  In  the  delight  of  the  hour, 
men  called  Oersted  the  Columbus,  and  Ampere  the  New- 
ton, of  electricity. 

Though  a  philosopher  of  a  high  order  and  lecturer  of 
interest  and  brilliancy,  Oersted  was,  nevertheless,  a  poor 
experimentalist.  He  was  fine  in  the  abstract,  awkward 
in  the  concrete.  Often  did  he  call  for  the  assistance  of 
a  student  to  perform  an  experiment  for  the  class  under 
his  direction.  Hansteen,  who  is  celebrated  for  his  very 
fine  work  in  terrestrial  magnetism,  often  had  this  privi- 
lege, for  he  was  clear  of  mind  and  deft  of  hand.  Writ- 
ing to  Faraday,  he  said  :  **  Oersted  was  a  man  of  gen- 
ious,  but  very  unsuccessful  as  a  demonstrator,  for  he 
could  not  manipulate  instruments." 

In  seeking  for  some  evidence  of  a  physical  interaction 
between  electricity  and  magnetism,  Oersted  on  one  oc- 
casion, placed  a  wire  conveying  a  current  vertically  across 
a  compass-needle ;  and,  on  obtaining  no  result,  seemed 
greatly  disappointed.  He  evidently  expected  the  needle 
to  respond  in  some  way  to  the  energy  of  the  current ; 
and  so  it  would  have  responded  had  he  placed  the  wire 
in  any  other  position  than  the  particular  one  which  he 
selected.  The  Danish  philosopher  now  hesitates  ;  and 
for  lack  of  coolness,  patience  and  resourcefulness,  runs 
the  risk  of  losing  the  crowning  glory  of  his  life.  He  is 
disappointed  at  his  failure  ;  and  for  the  nonce,  contents 
himself  with  brooding  over  it. 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  209 

On  another  occasion,  having  a  stronger  battery  at  his 
disposal,  he  determined  to  try  the  experiment  again, 
in  the  hope  that  the  greater  energy  at  his  command 

would  provoke 

the  magnet  to 

A — -^  respond.  This 

time,  he  stret- 


N— nmillll^^  fr  ched  the  wire 

**  '  over  and  par- 


allel  to  the 
compass    nee- 

The  magnetic  effect  of  an  electric  current.    Oersted,  1820       ,,  ,  . 

die,  when,  to 
his  intense  delight,  the  magnet  turned  aside  as  soon 
as  the  circuit  was  closed.  The  result  was  pronounced 
and  instantaneous.  The  Professor,  an  enthusiast  by 
nature,  waxed  warm  over  his  good  fortune,  and  well 
might  he  do  so,  as  the  discovery  which  he  had  just 
made  was  destined  to  revolutionize  existing  modes 
of  transmitting  intelligence  to  distant  parts  and  bring 
remotest  countries  into  direct  and  immediate  relation 
with  one  another. 

That  Oersted  fell  into  ecstasy  over  his  success  was 
but  natural,  though  it  is  not  stated  that  he  exhibited  his 
enthusiasm  by  the  performance  of  any  unusual  feat. 
When  Lavoisier  made  a  discovery,  he  was  wont  to  take 
hold  of  his  assistant  and  go  dancing  around  with  him 
for  sheer  joy.  After  making  a  certain  successful  exper- 
iment in  his  laboratory,  Gay-Lussac  gave  vent  to  his 
feelings  by  dancing  round  the  room,  and  clapping  his 
hands  the  while.  It  is  related  that,  when  Davy  saw  the 
first  globules  of  potassium  burst  through  the  crust  of 
potash  and  take  fire,  his  delight  knew  no  bounds.  He 
also  took  to  dancing,  and  some  time  had  to  elapse  before 


210  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

he  was  sufficiently  composed  to  continue  his  work.  Even 
the  cool  and  self-possessed  Faraday  occasionally  waxed 
warm  on  seeing  his  efforts  crowned  with  success.  It  is 
said  that,  when  he  got  a  wire  conveying  a  current  to  re- 
volve round  the  pole  of  a  magnet,  he  rubbed  his  hands 
vigorously  and  danced  around  the  table,  his  face  beaming 
with  delight :  ''There  they  go,  there  they  go  ;  we  have 
succeeded  at  last,"  he  said.  He  then  gleefully  proposed 
to  cease  work  for  the  day  and  spend  the  evening  at 
Astley's  seeing  the  feats  of  well-trained  horses  ! 

Having  realized  that  his  experiment  was  one  of  funda- 
mental importance  in  physical  theory,  our  philosopher 
proceeds  to  repeat  it  under  varying  conditions.  He 
places  the  wire  conveying  the  current  in  front  of  the 
needle,  behind  it,  under  it,  across  it ;  he  reverses  the 
current  in  each  case,  and  notices  the  direction  in  which 
the  needle  turns.  Though  he  states  results  very  clearly, 
he  gives  no  general  rule  whereby  the  direction  of  the] 
deflection  may  be  foretold  from  that  of  the  current.  A 
memoria  technica  to  meet  all  cases  that  may  occur  was 
needed,  and  was  promptly  supplied  by  Ampere,  who, 
with  a  flash  of  genius,  devised  the  rule  of  the  little  swim- 
mer. Others  have  been  added  since,  such  as  the  cork- 
screw rule  and  the  rule  involving  the  outspread  right 
hand ;  but  the  swimmer  appeals  in  a  manner  quite  its 
own  to  the  fancy  of  the  youthful  student.  It  pleases 
while  it  instructs  ;  it  is  ingenious  while  yet  remarkably 
simple. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Philosopher  of  Copenhagen 
was  led  by  mere  accident  to  the  experiment  which  will 
hand  his  name  down  the  ages ;  but  inasmuch  as  he  was 
looking,  during  thirteen  years,  for  a  result  analogous  to 
the  one  which  he  obtained,  it  is  only  right  to  give  him 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  211 

full  credit  for  the  success  which  he  achieved.  It  has 
been  well  remarked,  that  the  seeds  of  great  discoveries 
are  constantly  floating  around  us,  but  take  root  only  in 
minds  well  prepared  to  receive  them.  Accidents  of  the 
Oersted  type  happen  only  to  men  who  deserve  them,  as 
was  the  case  with  Musschenbroek  and  Galvani  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  with  Roentgen  in  the  nineteenth. 
The  electrification  of  a  flask  of  water,  the  twitching 
of  frogs'  legs  in  response  to  electric  sparks,  and  the 
blackening  of  a  sensitive  screen  by  a  distant,  shielded 
Crookes's  tube,  led  to  the  electrostatic  condenser  in  the 
first  case,  to  "galvanism"  in  the  second,  and  to  the 
photography  of  the  invisible  in  the  third. 

Writing  of  Oersted's  discovery,  Faraday  said  that 
'  *  It  burst  open  the  gates  of  a  domain  in  science,  dark 
till  then,  and  filled  it  with  a  flood  of  light." 

The  discovery  of  1820  was  hailed  throughout  Europe  by 
an  extraordinary  outburst  of  enthusiasm.  Oersted  was 
complimented  and  congratulated  on  all  sides.  Honors 
were  showered  upon  him  :  the  Royal  Society  of  London 
awarded  him  the  Copley  medal ;  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  gave  him  its  gold  medal  for  the  physico- 
mathematical  sciences  ;  Prussia  conferred  upon  him  the 
Ordre  pour  le  Merite,  and  his  own  country  made  him  a 
Knight  of  the  Daneborg. 

Oersted  lost  no  time  in  preparing  a  memoir  on  the 
subject  of  his  work,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to  the 
learned  societies  and  most  renowned  philosophers  of 
Europe.  The  memoir,  which  was  written  in  Latin  and 
dated  July  21st,  1820,  consisted  of  four  quarto  pages  with 
the  title  "Experiments  on  the  effect  of  the  electric  con- 
flict on  the  magnetic  needle." 
,'      A  perusal  of  this  paper  brings  home  the  conviction 


212 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Magnetic  field  surrounding  a  conductor  carrying:  a 
current 


that  Oersted  realized  fairly  well  the  forces  which  came 
into  play  in  his  experiment ;  for  in  one  place,  he  speaks 
of  the  effect  as  due  to  a  transverse  force  emanating 
from  the  conductor 
conveying  the  cur- 
rent, and  again  as 
a  conflict  acting  in 
a  revolving  manner 
around  the  wire.  A 
complete  statement 
of  the  nature  of  the 
mechanical  force  ex- 
erted by  a  conductor 
conveying  a  current  on  a  magnetic  needle  was  given 
almost  immediately  by  Ampere,  a  master  analyst  and 
accomplished  experimentalist. 

It  will  stand  for  all  time  in  the  history  of  science, 
that  in  less  than  two  months  after  the  publication  of 
Oersted's  memoir,  Ampere  succeeded  in  showing  the 
mechanical  effect  in  magnitude  and  direction  of  an  ele- 
ment of  current  not  only  on  the  magnetic  needle  itself, 
but  also  on  a  similar  element  of  an  adjacent  conductor 
conveying  a  current,  thereby  founding  a  new  science  in 
the  department  of  physics,  the  science  of  electro- 
dynamics. 

Oersted  does  not  appear  to  have  given  thought  to  the 
practical  possibilities  of  his  discovery.  While  appreciat- 
ing the  utilitarian  in  science,  he  evidently  preferred  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake.  In  a  discourse 
which  he  delivered  in  1814  before  the  University  of 
Copenhagen,  he  put  himself  on  record  when  he  said 
that  "The  real  laborer  in  the  scientific  field  chooses 
knowledge  as  his  highest  aim." 


HANS   CHRISTIAN    OERSTED 


213 


So  said  Plato  ages  before,  and  so  said  Archimedes, 
who  held  that  it  was  undesirable  for  a  philosopher  to 
seek  to  apply  the  discoveries  of  science  to  any  practical 

tend.  The  screw  which  he  invented,  his 
catapults  and  burning  mirrors,  show,  how- 
ever, that  when  necessary  the  Syracusan 
mathematician  could  come  down  from  the 
serene  heights  of  investigation  to  the  pro- 
saic arena  of  application. 

Before  Oersted  spoke  of  "the  real  labor- 
er," Thomas  Young  had  affirmed  that 
"Those  who  possess  the  genuine  spirit  of 
scientific  investigation  are  content  to  pro- 
ceed in  their  researches  without  inquiring 
at  every  step  what  they  gain  by  their  newly 
discovered  lights,  and  to  what  practical  pur- 
poses they  are  applicable." 

Young's  most  illustrious  successor  in  the 
Royal  Institution,  Michael  Faraday,  devoted 
himself  calmly  but  unflinchingly  to  research 
Fig.  24       work,  in  the  conviction  that  no  discovery, 
whirf suS-ound-  however  remote  in  its  nature,  from  the  sub- 
thrfugh  which  ject  of  daily  observation,  could  with  reason 
passing  be  declared  wholly  inapplicable  to  the  bene- 

fit of  mankind.  After  discovering  in  1831  that  elec- 
tric currents  could  be  produced  by  the  relative  motion 
of  magnets  and  coils  of  wire,  a  discovery  which  is  the 
basis  of  all  the  electric  engineering  of  our  day,  Fara- 
day constructed  several  experimental  machines  embody- 
ing this  principle,  and  then  turned  away  abruptly  from 
the  work,  saying,  "I  had  rather  been  desirous  of 
discovering  new  facts  and  new  relations  dependent  on 
magneto-electric  induction  than  of  exalting  the  force 


214  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

of  those  already  obtained,  being  assured  that  the  latter 
would  find  their  full  development  hereafter. " 

Our  own  Joseph  Henry,  whose  sterling  merit  is 
universally  recognized,  beautifully  said  in  this  connec- 
tion :  "He  who  loves  truth  for  its  own  sake  feels  that 
its  highest  claims  are  lowered  by  being  continually 
summoned  to  the  bar  of  immediate  and  palpable  utility. " 

Oersted  seems  to  have  shared  the  opinion  largely  held 
by  the  scientific  men  of  his  day,  that  electricity  is 
mainly  a  magnetic  phenomenon.  Ampere,  for  one,  did 
not  think  so,  as  is  evident  from  the  beautiful  theory 
which  he  devised  to  explain  the  magnetism  of  a  bar  by 
minute  electric  currents  flowing  round  each  individual 
molecule  of  the  iron.  To  the  French  physicist,  magnet- 
ism was  purely  an  electrical  phenomenon. 

Though  propounded 
more  than  eighty  years 
ago,  this  theory  is  still  in 
harmony  with  all  facts 
and  phenomena  in  the  do- 
main of  magnetism  known 
to-day.  It  is  important  to 
remember,  when  thinking  fig.  25 

of    this    physical    theory,  Ampere's  molecular  currents 

that  the  Amperian  currents  in  question  are  confined 
to  the  molecule,  and  that  they  do  not  flow  from  one 
molecule  to  another.  Critics  have  urged  against  the 
theory  that  the  molecules  must  be  heated  by  the 
circulation  of  these  elementary  currents,  to  which 
objection  it  has  been  replied  that,  as  we  know  nothing 
of  the  nature  of  the  molecule,  we  cannot  say  that  it 
offers  any  resistance  to  the  current ;  and,  therefore,  we 
cannot  affirm  that  there  is  any  development  of  heat 


HANS   CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  215 

due  to  the  circulation  of  these  elementary  currents. 

It  is  to  Ampere's  credit  that  he  was  also  the  first  to 
propose  a  practical  application  of  Oersted's  discovery, 
an  application  that  was  nothing  less  than  the  electric 
telegraph  itself.  He  suggested  that  the  deflection  of 
the  magnetic  needle  could  be  used  for  the  transmission 
of  signals  from  one  place  to  another  by  means  of  as 
many  needles  and  circuits  as  there  are  letters  in  the 
alphabet.  If  Ampere  had  only  recalled  the  optical  and 
mechanical  telegraphs  in  use  in  his  day,  such  as  the 
swinging  of  lanterns  by  night  and  wigwagging  of  flags 
and  the  movements  of  semaphores  by  day,  he  might 
have  reduced  his  twenty-four  circuits  to  one,  using  the 
two  elements,  viz. ,  motion  of  the  needle  to  the  right  and 
motion  to  the  left,  to  make  up  the  entire  alphabet. 
Morse  substituted  the  dot  and  the  dash  for  these  deflec- 
tions, and  thus  rendered  the  reception  of  messages 
automatic  and  permanent. 

In  connection  with  this  proposal  to  use  a  magnetic 
needle  for  the  transmission  of  intelligence,  the  reader 
will  no  doubt  recall  the  lover's  telegraph,  so  beautifully 
described  by  Addison  in  the  "Spectator"  for  Decem- 
ber 6th,  1711;  but  ingeniously  conceived  as  it  was,  this 
magnetic  telegraph  was  purely  and  simply  a  creation  of 
the  imagination. 

This  canny  conceit  has  been  attributed  to  Cardinal 
Bembo,  the  elegant  scholar  and  private  secretary  to 
Pope  Leo  X. ;  but  it  was  his  friend  Porta,  the  versatile 
philosopher,  who  made  it  widely  known  by  the  vivid 
description  which  he  gave  of  it  in  his  celebrated 
work  on  "Natural  Magic,"  published  at  Naples  in  1558. 

This  sympathetic  telegraph  consisted,  we  are  told, 
of  a  magnetic  needle  poised  in  the  center  of  a  dial- 


216 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


plate,  with  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  written  around 
it.  The  two  fortunate  individuals  privileged  to  hold 
wireless  correspondence  with  each  other  having  agreed 
as  to  the  day  and  the  hour,  proceed  to  the  room  in 
which  the  wonderful  instrument  is  kept,  where,  as 
soon  as  one  of  them  turns  the  needle  of  his  transmitter 
to  a  letter,  the  distant  needle  turns  at  once  in  sympathy 
to  the  same  letter  on  its  dial ! 

Such  is  the  power  of  magnetic  sympathy,  that  the  in- 
struments will  work  successfully  though  hills,  forests, 
lakes  or  mountains  intervene !  Porta  has  it :  "  To  a 
friend  at  a  distance  shut  up  in  prison,  we  may  relate 
our  minds ;  which,  I  do  not  doubt,  may  be  done  by 
means  of  compasses  having  the  alphabet  written  around 
them." 

This  sympathetic  magnetic  telegraph  figures  exten- 
sively in  the  scientific  literature  of  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries :  some  believed  in  the  figment, 
others  condemned  it.  Addison  described  it  in  elegant 
prose,  and  Akenside  in  beautiful  verse.    Perhaps  the 

most  famous  composition 
on  the  subject  is  a  short 
Latin  poem,  written,  after 
the  style  and  vein  of  Lu- 
cretius, in  1617  by  Fami- 
anus  Strada,  an  Italian 
Jesuit.  A  few  years  af- 
ter its  publication  in  the 
author' s  ' '  Prolusiones, ' '  a 
metrical  translation  was 
made  by  Hakewill  and  in- 
FiG.26  serted    on    page    285  of 

The '  sympathetic  telegraph "  from  Cabeo's     ,  .       ,  <    .        -,       .  t\      i 

Philosophia  Magnetica.  1Q29  hlS         ApolOgie,   Or   DeCla- 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  217 

ration  of  the  Power  and   Providence  of  God,"   1630. 
Owing  to  the  interest  that  attaches  to  this  celebrated 
composition  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  HakewilFs 
"  Apologie,"  we  append  his  version  of  the  poem. 

The  Loade  above  all  other  stones  hath  this  strange  prop- 
erty 
If  sundry  steels  thereto  or  needles  you  apply, 
Such  force  and  motion  thence  they  draw  that  they  in- 
cline 
To  turn  them  to  the  Bear,  which  near  the  Pole  doth 

shine. 
Nay,  more,  as  many  steels  as  touch  that  virtuous  stone 
In  strange  and  wondrous  sort  conspiring  all  in  one 
Together  move  themselves  and  situate  together : 
As  if  one  of  those  steels  at  Rome  be  stirred,  the  other 
The  self-same  way  will  stir  though  they  far  distant  be. 
And  all  through  Nature's  force  and  secret  sympathy ; 
Well  then  if  you  of  aught  would  fain  advise  your  friend 
That  dwells  far  off,  to  whom  no  letter  you  can  send  ; 
A  large  smooth  round  table  make,  write  down  the  criss- 
cross row 
In  order  on  the  verge  thereof,  and  then  bestow 
The  needle  in  the  midst  which  touch' d  the  Loade  that  so 
What  note  soe'er  you  list,  it  straight  may  turn  unto. 
Then  frame  another  orb  in  all  respects  like  this 
Describe  the  edge  and  lay  the  steel  thereon  likewise, 
The  steel  which  from  the  self -same  Magnes  motion  drew  ; 
This  orb  send  with  thy  friend  what  time  he  bids  adieu. 
But  on  the  days  agree  at  first,  when  you  do  mean  to 

prove 
If  the  steel  stir,  and  to  what  letter  it  doth  move. 
This  done,  if  with  thy  friend  thou  closely  wouldst  ad- 
vise, 
Who  in  a  country  off  far  distant  from  thee  lies. 
Take  thou  the  orb  and  steel  which  on  the  orb  was  set 
The  crisscross  on  the  edge  thou  seest  in  order  writ. 
What  notes  will  frame  thy  words,  to  them  direct  thy 

steel 
And  it  sometimes  to  this,  sometimes  to  that  note  wheel 
Turning  it  round  about  so  often  till  you  find 
You  have  compounded  all  the  meaning  of  your  mind. 


218 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Thy  friend  that  dwells  far  off,  0  strange !  doth  plainly 

see 
The  steel  so  stir  though  it  by  no  man  stirred  be, 
Running  now  here,  now  there :  he  conscious  of  the  plot 
As  the  steel-guide  pursues,  and  reads  from  note  to  note. 
Then  gathering  into  words  those  notes,  he  clearly  sees 
What's  needful  to  be  done,  the  needle  truchman  is. 
Now,  when  the  steel  doth  cease  its  motion  ;  if  thy  friend 
Think  it  convenient  answer  back  to  send. 
The  same  course  he  may  take ;  and,   with  his  needle 

write 
Touching  the  several  notes  which  so  he  list  indite. 
Would  God,  men  would  be  pleased  to  put  this  course  in 

use. 
Their  letters  would  arrive  more  speedy  and  more  sure, 
No  rivers  would  them  stop  nor  thieves  them  intercept ; 
Princes  with  their  own  hands,  their  business  might  effect. 
We  scribes,  from  black  sea  'scaped,  at  length  with  hearty 

wills 
At  th'  altar  of  the  Loade  would  consecrate  our  quills. 

Another  translation  of  the  poem  was  made  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Ward  and  published  at  the  end  of  his  "Wonders 
of  the  Loadstone,"  1640. 

Ampere's  suggestion, 
made,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  year  1820,  was  not 
the  first  proposal  to  use 
electricity  for  telegraphic 
purposes.  Already,  in 
1753,  a  writer  in  The  Scots 
Magazine,  signing  him- 
self C.  M.  (Charles  Mor- 
rison, of  Greenock,  accord- 
ing to  Sir  David  Brewster, 
and  Charles  Marshall,  of 
Paisley,  according  to  Lati- 
mer Clark),  outlined  a  method  involving  the  use  of  fric- 


FlG.  27 

The  "sympathetic  telegraph  "  from 

Turner's  Ars  Notoria,  1657 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  219 

tional  electricity ;  and  Lesage,  of  Geneva,  constructed  a 
short  experimental  line,  in  1774,  consisting  of  twenty-four 
wires  and  a  pith-ball  electroscope.  But  the  man  who 
attained  the  greatest  success  in  the  employment  of  static 
electricity  for  this  purpose  was  Ronalds,  of  London,  who, 
in  1816,  erected  a  single-wire  line  eight  miles  long  in  his 
gardens  at  Hammersmith,  with  a  pair  of  pith-balls  and 
a  rotating  disc  for  receiving  instrument. 

When  well  satisfied  that  his  system  was  practicable 
and  reliable,  Ronalds  wrote  to  the  head  of  the  intel- 
ligence department  in  London  urging  the  adoption  of 
his  invention  for  the  public  service ;  but  he  was 
promptly  brought  to  realize  the  scant  encouragement  so 
often  extended  to  inventors  by  persons  in  high  places, 
that  responsible  official  politely  informing  him  "that 
telegraphs  of  all  kinds  are  wholly  unnecessary, "  and  that 
no  other  than  the  mechanical  one  in  daily  use  would  be 
adopted. 

When  penning  these  words,  the  representative  of  the 
British  government  must  have  forgotten  the  experience 
of  1812,  when  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Salamanca  was 
semaphored  from  Plymouth  to  London,  on  which  occa- 
sion a  fog  cut  off  the  message  after  the  transmission  of 
the  first  two  words,  "WeUington  defeated,"  the  re- 
mainder of  the  despatch,  "the  French  at  Salamanca," 
reaching  the  capital  only  on  the  following  morning ! 

A  rapid  sketch  of  the  life  of  our  philosopher,  whose 
discovery  of  the  magnetic  effect  of  the  voltaic  current  in 
1820  led  to  the  invention  of  the  electric  telegraph,  can- 
not be  without  interest. 

Hans  Christian  Oersted  was  bom  on  August  14th,  1777, 
in  the  little  town  of  Rudkjobing,  in  the  island  of  Lange- 
land,  Denmark.    Being  the  son  of  poor  parents,  his 


220  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

early  years  were  spent  in  very  narrow  circumstances. 
He  and  his  younger  brother  were  mainly  indebted 
to  their  own  efforts  for  whatever  instruction  they 
received  in  the  rudiments  of  learning.  The  town  in 
which  they  lived  being  small,  offered  few  opportunities 
for  education,  even  if  the  family  exchequer  had  been 
such  as  to  permit  the  boys  to  take  advantage  of  them. 
There  was  a  German  wigmaker  in  the  place,  however, 
who  was  a  little  more  advanced  in  knowledge  than  the 
generality  of  the  townspeople.  He  and  his  wife  liked 
the  Oersted  boys,  who  were  very  frequently  to  be  found 
in  the  wigmaker' s  shop.  The  good  housewife  taught 
them  to  read,  while  the  artist  himself  taught  them  a 
little  German.  Hans  Christian  advanced  so  rapidly  in 
his  studies  that  he  acquired  a  reputation  for  precocious- 
ness,  which,  with  the  usual  prejudice  against  bright 
children,  made  the  neighbors  shake  their  heads  pro- 
phetically and  say  :  ' '  The  child  will  not  live  ;  he  is  too 
bright  to  last  long." 

Hans  Christian  learned  the  elements  of  arithmetic 
from  an  old  school-book  which  he  picked  up  by  chance  ; 
and  no  sooner  had  he  advanced  a  little,  than  he  set. 
about  instructing  his  brother.  Very  probably,  the  teacher 
benefited  quite  as  much  by  this  process  of  instruction 
as  the  pupil.  Adversity  is  a  good  school  for  the  for- 
mation of  character  as  well  as  for  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge.  It  is  evident,  from  the  lives  of  such  men 
as  Oersted,  Faraday,  Kepler,  Ohm,  and  others  who  were 
brought  up  in  the  lap  of  poverty,  that  it  is  not  so  much 
educational  opportunity  that  is  needed  for  the  develop- 
ment of  mind  which  we  call  education,  as  the  earnest 
determination  and  the  abiding  desire  to  have  it.  Even 
boyhood  creates  its  own  opportunities  for    education 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  221 

despite  intervening  obstacles,  if  it  has  only  a  decided 
eagerness,  a  pronounced  thirst  for  knowledge. 

About  the  time  that  the  young  Oersteds  entered  their 
teens,  their  father  secured  the  services  of  a  private 
teacher  to  give  them  some  instruction  in  the  rudi- 
ments of  Latin  and  Greek.  This  accidental  precep- 
tor was  only  a  wandering  student  who  happened  to  be 
in  the  place  at  the  time ;  but  the  boys,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  learn,  derived  more  benefit  from  his  lessons 
than  many  boys  of  their  age  often  do  nowadays  from 
the  help  and  encouragement  of  a  carefully  selected  and 
academically  equipped  tutor. 

At  the  age  of  twelve,  Oersted  senior  was  taken  into 
his  father's  apothecary-shop  in  quality  of  assistant,  a 
position  which  seemed  destined  to  put  an  end  to  all 
opportunities  for  further  advancement  in  the  path  of 
learning.  When  a  boy  goes  into  a  drug-store  in  an 
official  capacity,  his  future  career  is  usually  settled ;  he 
is  a  druggist  to  the  end.  His  new  avocation,  however, 
proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  new  intellectual  activities 
for  Oersted.  The  chemical  side  of  his  work  became  a 
source  of  new  information  to  him,  and  also  a  stimulus  to 
learn  all  that  he  could  of  chemistry  and  kindred  sub- 
jects. Science  became  a  hobby  with  the  young  apothe- 
cary, and  everything  relating  to  it  appealed  to  him. 
What  Hans  learned,  he  as  usual  imparted  to  his  brother, 
who  was  already  becoming  interested  in  other  depart- 
ments of  learning,  especially  the  law. 

The  desire  of  the  boys  to  advance  grew  with  their 
stock  of  knowledge.  Accordingly,  when,  in  1794,  Hans 
was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  and  his  brother  sixteen, 
they  both  matriculated  at  the  University  of  Copenhagen. 
Their  father  was  able  to  help  them  but  little,  so  that 


222  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

they  were  obliged  to  live  quietly  and  sparingly,  a  con-- 
dition  distinctly  favorable  to  consecutive  and  efficient 
study.  They  became  so  successful  in  their  pursuits  that 
they  soon  began  to  attract  attention.  Having  passed 
creditable  examinations,  they  were  recommended  for 
pecuniary  assistance  from  an  educational  fund  estab- 
lished by  the  government  for  the  purpose.  Even  then, 
as  receipts  were  hardly  equal  to  expenses,  they  sought 
to  increase  their  little  revenue  by  giving  private  lessons 
in  their  leisure  hours.  Here  we  have  a  striking  exam- 
ple of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  men  who  work 
their  way  through  College  in  the  teeth  of  adverse  cir- 
cumstances ;  in  these  two  brothers,  we  have  proof  of  the 
truth  that  it  is  the  student's  mind,  his  willingness  and 
determination  to  work,  that  count  in  education  more 
than  the  golden  opportunities  that  may  fall  to  his  lot. 

In  the  year  1799,  Oersted  prepared  a  thesis  on  "The 
Architectonics  of  Natural  Metaphysics,"  which  won 
for  him  his  Doctorate  in  Philosophy.  Though  the  young 
Doctor  did  not  hesitate  to  discuss  metaphysical  problems 
and  even  to  disagree  with  Kant  at  a  time  when  most 
Teutonic  minds  were  deeply  under  the  influence  of  the 
philosopher  of  Konigsberg,  his  chief  interests,  however, 
centered  in  the  experimental  sciences,  in  physics  and 
chemistry. 

In  spite  of  his  devotedness  to  science.  Oersted  allowed 
himself,  by  way  of  distraction,  an  occasional  excursion 
into  the  field  of  literature.  A  great  literary  and  artistic 
movement  was  making  itself  felt  in  the  northern  part 
of  Europe  at  the  time.  The  aesthetic  awakening  of  the 
Teutonic  nations  had  come  after  three  centuries  of 
religious  and  political  unrest,  ill  adapted  to  intellectual 
development.      Lessing  and  Winkelmann,  Goethe  and. 


HANS  CHRISTIAN  OERSTED  22S 

Schiller,  the  two  Schlegels  and  Klopstock  as  well  as  the 
young  poets,  Uhland  and  Koerner,  were  either  already 
at  work  or  were  about  to  enter  on  their  distinguished  ca- 
reers, and  the  neighboring  Scandinavian  nations  were 
beginning  to  be  seriously  affected  by  the  movement 
which  was  going  on  among  their  brethren.  In  the 
third  year  of  his  university  course,  Oersted  entered 
the  lists  as  a  competitor  for  literary  honors  on  the  ques- 
tion, **  What  are  the  Limits  of  Prose  and  Poetry?  "  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  winning  the  gold  medal  offered 
for  the  contest.  In  spite  of  this  episode,  indicative  of 
devotedness  to  the  muses,  Oersted  passed  a  brilliant 
pharmaceutical  examination ;  and  in  the  following  year 
succeeded  in  capturing  another  prize,  this  time  for  a 
medical  essay. 

After  such  a  period  of  preparation,  it  might  be  ex- 
pected that  a  brilliant  career  would  open  up  for  Oersted  ; 
but,  unfortunately,  he  could  not  afford  to  wait  for  slow 
academic  rewards,  as  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
him  to  set  about  earning  his  Hvelihood.  For  this  pur- 
pose, shortly  after  graduation,  he  accepted  the  position 
of  manager  of  a  drug-store.  As  the  salary  attached  to 
the  office  was  rather  slender,  he  increased  his  resources 
by  giving  lectures  in  the  evening  on  the  familiar  sub- 
jects of  chemistry,  natural  philosophy  and  metaphysics. 

About  this  time,  the  wanderlust,  or  passion  for  travel, 
took  possession  of  our  young  philosopher  ;  and  under  its 
influence,  he  resolved  to  see  for  himself  what  men 
of  scientific  avocations  were  doing  in  France  and  in 
Germany.  His  own  pinched  circumstances  would  not 
allow  him  to  undertake  such  a  journey ;  but  he  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  win  a  stipendium  cappelianum  which 
allowed  him  to  travel  at  the  expense  of  the  government 


224  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

for  a  period  of  five  years,  though  he  used  it  only  for 
three.  If  ever  pecuniary  aid  was  productive  of  endur- 
ing results,  it  was  so  in  this  case. 

In  1801,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  Oersted  set  out 
from  Copenhagen  on  his  grand  tour,  determined  to 
make  it  a  scientific  as  well  as  sentimental  journey.  In 
Germany,  which  he  first  visited,  he  met  Klaproth,  the 
orientalist ;  Werner,  the  mineralogist ;  Olbers  the  as- 
tronomer; the  philosophers  Fichte,  Schelling  and  the 
two  Schlegels ;  and  above  all,  the  young  and  brilliant 
physicist  Johann  Wilhelm  Ritter,  who  discussed  with  him 
the  theory  of  the  wonderful  "pile"  invented  by  Volta 
in  the  previous  year,  1800. 

In  Paris,  Oersted  spent  about  fifteen  months,  during 
which  time  he  was  in  habitual  relations  with  many  of 
the  savants  who  were  just  then  reflecting  great  lustre 
on  French  science.  To  mention  but  a  few :  there  was 
Cuvier,  the  leading  naturalist  of  his  age ;  Abbe  Haiiy, 
crystallographer  of  world-wide  reputation ;  Biot,  the 
brilliant  expounder  of  physics  ;  Charles,  the  discoverer 
of  the  law  which  bears  his  name  ;  Berthollet,  the  asso- 
ciate of  Monge  the  mathematician,  and  Lavoisier,  the 
chemist. 

On  his  return  to  the  Danish  capital  in  1804,  Oersted 
delivered  courses  of  lectures  on  electricity  and  mag- 
netism, light  and  heat,  before  numerous  and  cultured 
audiences ;  and  such  was  the  success  which  he  achieved 
that  he  was  appointed,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  to  the 
chair  of  physics  in  the  University  of  Copenhagen. 

For  nearly  forty-five  years  he  was  destined  to  occupy 
this  academical  position,  so  that  his  connection  with 
that  seat  of  learning  rounded  out  the  full  period  of  half 
:a  century. 


HANS  CHRISTIAN  OERSTED  225 

While  sedulously  occupied  with  the  duties  of  his 
chair  and  the  pursuit  of  his  favorite  scientific  subjects, 
Oersted  was  not  unmindful  of  his  civic  and  altruistic 
obligations.  He  frequently  gave  popular  scientific  lec- 
tures, which  were  open  to  women  as  well  as  to  men. 
He  helped  in  the  organization  of  a  bureau  through 
which  lectures  would  be  given  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and  thus  became  a  pioneer  in  what  we  call 
to-day  the  university  extension  movement.  When  dem- 
ocratic ideas  began  to  be  discussed  in  Denmark  after 
the  French  Revolution  of  1830,  Oersted  was  one  of  those 
who  took  part  in  the  onward  movement  for  the  bet- 
terment of  the  people.  In  1835,  he  cooperated  in  the 
foundation  of  the  Society  for  the  Freedom  of  the  Press; 
and  when  Christian  VHI.  ascended  the  throne,  he  ad- 
dressed the  new  monarch  in  a  speech  of  liberal  tendency, 
hailing  him  because  of  the  interest  which  he  took  in  the 
advancement  of  science  and  in  the  uplift  of  the  masses. 

An  idea  of  the  position  accorded  to  Oersted  by  his 
colleagues  in  the  world  of  science  may  be  gathered  from 
an  address  made  by  Sir  John  Herschel  at  the  closing 
session  of  the  Southampton  meeting  of  the  British  As- 
sociation in  1836,  in  which  the  distinguished  astronomer 
said :  "In  science,  there  is  but  one  direction  which  the 
needle  will  take  when  pointed  towards  the  European 
continent,  and  that  is  towards  my  esteemed  friend. 
Professor  Oersted.  To  look  at  his  cool  manner,  who 
would  think  that  he  wielded  such  an  intense  power,  cap- 
able of  altering  the  whole  state  of  science,  and  almost 
the  knowledge  of  the  world?  He  has  at  this  meeting 
developed  some  of  those  recondite  and  remarkable  forces 
of  nature  which  he  was  the  first  to  discover,  and  which 
went  almost  to  the  extent  of  obliging  us  to  alter  our 


226  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

views  on  the  most  ordinary  laws  of  energy  and  motion. 
He  elaborated  his  ideas  with  slowness  and  certainty, 
bringing  them  forward  only  after  a  long  lapse  of  time. 
How  often  did  I  wish  to  Heaven  that  we  could  trample 
down,  and  strike  forever  to  earth,  the  hasty  generaliza- 
tions which  mark  the  present  age,  and  bring  up  another 
and  safer  system  of  investigation,  such  as  that  which 
marked  the  inquiries  of  our  friend?  It  was  in  deep 
recesses,  as  it  were,  of  a  cell,  that  a  faint  idea  first  oc- 
curred to  Oersted.  He  waited  long  and  calmly  for  the 
dawn  which  at  length  broke  upon  him,  altering  the 
whole  relations  of  science  and  life.  The  electric  tele- 
graph and  other  wonders  of  modern  science  were  but 
mere  effervescences  from  the  surface  of  this  deep,  re- 
condite discovery  of  his.  If  we  were  to  characterize,  by 
any  figure,  the  usefulness  of  Oersted  to  science,  we 
would  regard  him  as  a  fertilizing  shower  descending 
from  heaven,  which  brought  forth  a  new  crop,  delight- 
ful to  the  eye  and  pleasing  to  the  heart." 

It  may  be  noticed  that  in  Oersted's  day  early  special- 
ization was  fortunately  unknown.  His  education  was 
broad  and  his  intellectual  activities  broader  still.  Quite 
as  interesting  as  many  of  his  scientific  researches  are 
some  of  his  contributions  to  philosophy  and  some  of  his 
views  on  the  significance  of  the  material  universe. 
Oersted,  a  man  of  the  world  with  a  wide  range  of 
interests  and  a  philosopher  who  lived  at  high  intellec- 
tual altitudes,  was  one  of  the  all-round  men  in  the 
history  of  thought  who  took  active  part  in  science,  in 
literature,  in  politics  and  in  social  problems.  He  had 
the  opportunity  of  meeting  many  of  the  renowned 
scientists  and  philosophers  of  the  century,  and  had  been 
very  closely  in  touch  with  some  of  them.    He  was  a 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  227 

regular  attendant  at  scientific  congresses,  in  which  he 
distinguished  himself  by  the  leading  part  which  he  took 
in  their  deliberations.  His  opinions,  therefore,  on  the 
great  problems  of  life,  religious,  moral,  social  and 
political,  challenge  our  respect  even  where  they  do  not 
compel  our  approval.  Our  Danish  philosopher  deserves, 
then,  to  stand  as  the  spokesman  of  his  generation  of 
savants  on  the  great  questions  that  concern  man's 
relations  to  his  fellow-men,  to  an  all-wise  Providence 
and  to  an  enduring  hereafter.  His  opinions  on  these 
matters  are  all  the  more  interesting  because  they  are 
in  open  contradiction  with  what  is  sometimes  thought  to 
be  the  views  of  scientists  on  such  subjects. 

One  of  the  passages  of  his  paper  on  "All  Existence, 
a  Dominion  of  Reason,"  contains  some  surprising  antic- 
ipations of  ideas  that  created  a  great  stir  in  the  intel- 
lectual world  some  fifty  years  ago.  In  1846,  that  is, 
thirteen  years  before  the  publication  of  t)arwin's  ' '  Origin 
of  Species,"  Oersted  discussed  evolution  and  suggested 
explanations  that  are  generally  considered  to  have  been 
forced  from  apologists  when  compelled  to  take  up  the 
work  of  reconciling  Christian  doctrines  with  scientific 
conclusions. 

Writing  in  the  middle  'forties,  he  said:  "If  we  are 
now  thoroughly  convinced  that  everything  in  the  ma- 
terial world  is  produced  from  similar  particles  of  matter, 
by  the  same  forces  and  in  obedience  to  the  same  laws, 
we  must  allow  that  the  planets  have  been  formed  ac- 
cording to  the  same  laws  as  our  own  earth.  They  have 
been  in  process  of  development  during  immeasurable 
periods  of  time,  and  have  undergone  numerous  trans- 
formations which  have  aleo  influenced  the  vegetable  and 
animal  kingdoms  of  those  remote  periods.    The  lower 


228  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

forms  of  life  advanced  by  gradual  stages  to  higher  and 
more  complex  states  of  organization,  till  at  length  (in  a 
comparatively  recent  period)  a  self-conscious  being  was 
evolved,  the  crowning  work  of  this  long-continued  pro- 
cess of  development.  Accordingly,  we  must  allow  a 
similar  order  of  organic  development  to  take  place  on 
the  other  planets  of  our  solar  family.  There  may  be 
some  which  have  not  as  yet  attained  the  same  degree  of 
development  that  we  have  reached ;  but  everywhere 
throughout  the  universe,  creatures  endowed  with  reason 
appear  in  due  time,  just  as  man  appeared  on  our  own 
globe.  Their  understanding  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  organs  of  sense  which  they  possess  ;  therefore, 
the  nature  of  their  mental  faculties  cannot  be  essen- 
tially different  from  our  own.  That  I  may  avoid  even 
the  appearance  of  materialism,  I  must  direct  attention 
to  the  conciliatory  principle,  that  the  natural  environ- 
ment from  which  man  springs  must  be  recognized  as 
the  work  of  the  eternal,  creative  Spirit.  In  other  words, 
our  conception  of  the  universe  is  incomplete,  if  not  com- 
prehended as  a  constant  and  continuous  work  of  the 
eternally  creating  Spirit." 

Thus  far  Oersted  ;  let  us  here  recall  what  Lord  Kelvin, 
the  representative  scientist  of  his  day,  quoted  with 
approval  on  a  memorable  occasion  from  the  Danish 
scientist  with  regard  to  the  basic  truths  of  science, 
philosophy  and  religion.  "It  will  not  be  foreign  to  our 
purpose  if,  called  upon  by  the  solemnities  of  this  day, 
we  endeavor  to  establish  our  conviction  of  the  harmony 
that  subsists  between  religion  and  science,  by  showing 
how  the  man  of  science  must  look  upon  his  pursuits,  if 
he  understands  them  rightly,  as  an  exercise  of  religion. 

**  If  my  purpose  here  was  merely  to  show  that  science 


HANS  CHRISTIAN   OERSTED  229 

necessarily  engenders  piety,  I  should  appeal  to  the  great 
truth  everywhere  recognized,  that  the  essence  of  all 
religion  consists  in  love  toward  God.  The  conclusion 
would  then  be  easy,  that  love  of  Him  from  whom  all 
truth  proceeds  must  create  the  desire  to  acknowledge 
truth  in  all  her  patjis  ;  but  as  we  desire  here  to  recog- 
nize science  herself  as  a  religious  duty,  it  will  be  req- 
uisite for  us  to  penetrate  deeper  into  its  nature.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  the  searching  eye  of  man, 
whether  he  regards  his  own  inward  being  or  the  crea- 
tion surrounding  him,  is  always  led  to  the  Eternal 
Source  of  all  things.  In  all  inquiry,  the  ultimate  aim  is 
to  discover  that  which  really  exists  and  to  contemplate 
it  in  its  pure  light  apart  from  all  that  deceives  the 
careless  observer  by  only  a  seeming  existence.  The 
philosopher  will  then  comprehend  what,  amidst  cease- 
less change,  is  the  Constant  and  Uncreated,  which  is 
hidden  behind  unnumbered  creations,  the  bond  of  union 
which  keeps  things  together  in  spite  of  their  manifold 
divisions  and  separations.  He  must  soon  acknowledge 
that  the  independent  can  only  be  the  constant  and  the 
constant  the  independent,  and  that  true  unity  is  in- 
separable from  either  of  these.  And  thus  it  is  in  the 
nature  of  thought  that  it  finds  no  quiet  resting  place,  no 
pause,  except  in  the  invariable,  eternal,  uncaused,  all- 
causing,  all-comprehensive  Omniscience. 

"But,  if  this  one-sided  view  does  not  satisfy  him,  if  he 
seeks  to  examine  the  world  with  the  eye  of  experience, 
he  perceives  that  all  those  things  of  whose  reality  the 
multitude  feels  most  assured  never  have  an  enduring 
existence,  but  are  always  on  the  road  between  birth  and 
death.  If  he  now  properly  comprehends  the  whole 
array  of  nature,  he  perceives  that  it  is  not  merely  an 


230  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

idea  or  an  abstract  notion,  as  it  is  called  ;  but  that  rea- 
son and  the  power  to  which  everything  is  indebted  for 
its  essential  nature  are  only  the  revelation  of  a  self- 
sustained  Being.  How  can  he,  when  he  sees  this,  be 
otherwise  animated  than  by  the  deepest  feeling  of  hu- 
mility, of  devotion  and  of  love?  If  anyone  has  learned  a 
different  lesson  from  his  observation  of  nature,  it  could 
only  be  because  he  lost  his  way  amidst  the  dispersion 
and  variety  of  creation  and  had  not  looked  upwards  to 
the  eternal  unity  of  truth." 

As  already  said,  Oersted  lived  to  celebrate  the  fif- 
tieth year  of  his  connection  with  his  university.  This 
was  in  November,  1850,  on  which  occasion  his  friends, 
pupils  and  the  public  generally  united  together  in  honor- 
ing him  as  a  professor  whose  warm  and  animated  lec- 
tures enraptured  audiences ;  as  a  leader  in  the  scientific 
advance  of  the  times ;  and  as  a  Christian  to  whom  na- 
ture was  but  a  manifestation  of  the  Deity's  combined 
wisdom  and  creative  power. 

The  aged  scientist,  much  touched  by  this  popular  de- 
monstration as  well  as  by  the  tokens  of  esteem  given  him 
by  the  King,  spoke  of  this  jubilee  celebration  as  the 
happiest  day  of  his  life.  The  reader  will  recall  another 
great  man,  great  in  the  world  of  politics  and  great  on 
the  field  of  battle,  who  said  that  the  happiest  day  of  his 
life  was  that  of  his  first  communion. 

A  few  months  after  celebrating  his  golden  jubilee, 
Oersted  passed  away,  after  a  short  illness,  on  March 
9th,  1851,  deeply  mourned  by  all. 

Oersted  was  eminent  as  a  scholar  and  equally  em- 
inent as  a  man  ;  lenient  in  his  judgment  of  others,  he 
was  strict  with  regard  to  himself ;  simple  in  his  ways 
and  frugal  in  living,  he  was  benevolent  to  others,  being 


HANS  CHRISTIAN  OERSTED  231 

always  ready  to  give  a  helping  hand  wherever  needed. 
To  such  a  man  may  well  be  applied  these  beautiful 
words  with  which  Priestley  begins  his  "History  of 
Electricity  "  :  "A  life  spent  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
productions  of  divine  power,  wisdom  and  goodness, 
would  be  a  life  of  devotion.  The  more  we  see  of  the 
wonderful  structure  of  the  world  and  of  the  laws  of 
nature,  the  more  clearly  do  we  comprehend  their  ad- 
mirable uses  to  make  all  percipient  creation  happy,  a  sen- 
timent which  cannot  but  fill  the  heart  with  unbounded 
love,  gratitude  and  joy." 

A  statue  to  the  memory  of  Oersted  was  unveiled  in 
Copenhagen  on  September  25th,  1876,  in  presence  of 
the  King  of  Denmark,  the  King  of  Greece,  the  Danish 
Crown  Prince  and  members  of  the  Royal  family,  as  well 
as  numerous  high  officials,  representatives  of  learned 
societies  and  a  vast  body  of  students  and  people  assem- 
bled together  to  do  honor  to  a  man  who  was  distin- 
guished alike  by  his  scientific  attainments  and  philo- 
sophical acumen,  and  who,  during  his  long  life,  never 
faltered  in  his  devotedness  to  the  welfare  of  his  coun- 
try as  he  never  weakened  in  his  defense  of  the  great 
truths  of  religion. 

Brother  Potamian. 


232  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Andre  Marie  Ampere. 

Few  men  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  so  interesting 
as  Andre  Marie  Ampere,  who  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
deservedly  spoken  of  as  the  founder  of  the  science 
of  electro-dynamics.  Extremely  precocious  as  a  boy,  sa 
that,  like  his  immediate  predecessor  in  discovery,  Oer-^ 
sted  the  Dane,  his  rapid  intellectual  development  drew 
down  upon  him  ominous  expressions  from  those  who 
knew  him,  he  more  than  fulfilled  the  highest  promise  of 
his  early  years.  His  was  no  one-sided  genius.  He  was 
interested  in  everything,  and  his  memory  was  as  reten- 
tive as  his  intellect  was  comprehensive.  He  grew  up, 
indeed,  to  be  a  young  man  of  the  widest  possible  in- 
terests. Literature  never  failed  to  have  its  attraction 
for  him,  though  science  was  his  favorite  study  and 
mathematics  his  hobby.  The  mathematical  mind  is  com- 
monly supposed  to  run  in  very  precise  grooves,  yet 
Ampere  was  always  a  speculator,  and  his  speculations 
were  most  suggestive  for  his  contemporaries  and  subse- 
quent generations.  Indeed,  his  mathematics,  far  from 
being  a  hindrance  to  his  penetrating  outlook  upon  the 
hazier  confines  of  science,  rather  seemed  to  help  the 
penetrations  it  gave.  While  he  was  so  great  a  scientist 
that  Arago,  so  little  likely  to  exaggerate  his  French 
contemporary's  merit,  has  said  of  Ampere's  discovery 
identifying  magnetism  and  electricity,  that  "the  vast 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  233: 

field  of  physical  science  perhaps  never  presented  so 
brilliant  a  discovery,  conceived,  verified,  and  completed 
with  such  rapidity,"  his  friends  knew  this  great  scien- 
tist as  one  of  the  kindliest  and  most  genial  of  men, 
noted  for  his  simplicity,  his  persuasive  sympathy  and 
his  tender  regard  for  all  those  with  whom  he  was 
brought  into  intimate  relations. 

The  commonly  accepted  formula  for  a  great  scientist, 
that  he  is  a  man  wrapt  up  in  himself  and  his  work, 
enmeshed  so  completely  in  the  scientific  speculations 
that  occupy  him  that  he  has  little  or  no  time  for  great 
humanitarian  interests,  so  that  his  human  sympathies 
are  likely  to  atrophy,  is  entirely  contradicted  by  the  life 
of  Ampere.  He  was  no  narrow  specialist,  and,  indeed, 
it  may  be  said  that  not  a  single  one  of  these  great  dis- 
coverers in  electricity  whom  we  are  considering  in  this 
volume  was  of  the  type  that  is  sometimes  accepted  as 
indicative  of  scientific  genius  and  originality.  After 
reading  their  lives,  one  is  prone  to  have  the  feeling  that 
men  who  lack  that  wider  sympathy  which,  in  the  famous 
words  of  the  old  Latin  poet,  makes  everything  human 
of  interest  to  them,  are  not  of  the  mental  calibre  to 
make  supreme  discoveries,  even  though  they  may  suc- 
ceed in  creating  a  large  amount  of  interest  in  their 
scientific  speculations  in  their  own  generation.  It  is  the 
all-round  man  who  does  supreme  original  work  of  en- 
during quality. 

Andr6  Marie  Ampere  was  born  at  Lyons,  January  22d, 
1775.  His  father,  Jean  Jacques  Ampere,  was  a  small 
merchant  who  made  a  comfortable  living  for  his  family, 
but  no  more.  His  father  and  mother  were  both  well 
informed  for  their  class  and  time,  and  were  well  es- 
teemed by  their  neighbors.    His  mother  especially  was 


234  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

known  for  an  unalterable  sweetness  of  character  and 
charitable  beneficence  which  sought  out  every  possible 
occasion  for  its  exercise.  She  was  universally  beloved 
by  those  who  knew  her,  and  the  charm  of  Ampere's 
manner,  which  made  for  him  a  friend  of  every  acquaint- 
ance, was  undoubtedly  a  manifestation  of  the  same 
family  strain. 

Shortly  after  the  birth  of  their  son,  the  parents  gave 
up  business  and  retired  on  a  little  property  situated  in 
the  country  not  far  from  Lyons.  It  was  in  this  little 
village,  without  any  school-teacher  and  with  only  home 
instruction,  that  the  genius  of  the  future  savant,  who 
was  to  be  one  of  the  distinguished  scientific  men  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  began  to  show  itself.  For  Ampere 
was  not  only  a  genius,  but,  what  is  so  often  thought  to 
be  an  almost  absolute  preclusion  of  any  serious  achieve- 
ment later  in  life,  a  precocious  genius.  The  first  mar- 
velous faculty  that  began  to  develop  in  him  was  an 
uncontrollable  tendency  to  arithmetical  expression.  Be- 
fore he  knew  how  to  make  figures,  he  had  invented 
for  himself  a  method  of  doing  even  rather  complicated 
problems  in  arithmetic  by  the  aid  of  a  number  of  peb- 
bles or  peas.  During  an  illness  that  overtook  him  as  a 
child,  his  mother,  anxious  because  of  the  possible  evil 
effects  upon  his  health  of  mental  work,  took  his  pebbles 
away  from  him.  He  supplied  their  place,  however, 
during  the  leisure  hours  of  his  convalescence,  when  time 
hung  heavy  on  his  child  hands,  by  bread  crumbs.  He 
craved  food,  but,  according  to  the  "starving"  medical 
regime  of  the  time,  he  was  allowed  only  a  single  biscuit 
in  three  days.  It  required  no  little  self-sacrifice  on  his 
part,  then,  to  supply  himself  with  counters  from  this 
scanty  supply,  and  his  persistence,  in  spite  of  hunger, 


ANDRE  MARIE   AMPERE  235 

evidently  indicates  that  this  mathematical  tendency  was 
stronger  than  his  appetite  for  food.  This  is  all  the  more 
surprising,  since  children  are  usually  scarcely  more  than 
little  animals  in  the  matter  of  eating,  and  commonly 
satisfy  their  physical  cravings  without  an  after-thought 
of  any  kind. 

Ampere  learned  to  read  when  but  very  young,  and 
then  began  to  devour  all  the  books  which  came  to 
hand.  Usually,  the  precocious  taste  for  reading  spe- 
cializes on  some  particular  subject ;  but  everything  was 
grist  that  came  to  the  child  Ampere's  mental  mill,  and 
it  was  all  ground  up  ;  and,  strangest  of  all,  much  of  it 
was  assimilated.  Travel,  history,  poetry,  occupied  him 
quite  as  much  as  romance ;  and,  amazing  as  it  may 
,  appear,  even  philosophy  was  not  disdained  while  he 
was  still  under  ten  years  of  age.  It  seems  amusing  to 
read  the  declaration  of  the  French  biographer,  that  if 
this  boy  of  ten  had  any  special  predilection  in  litera- 
ture, it  was  for  Homer,  Lucan,  Tasso,  Fenelon,  Corneille 
,  and  Voltaire,  yet  it  must  be  taken  seriously. 

When  he  was  about  fifteen,  this  omnivorous  intel- 
lectual genius  came  across  a  French  encyclopedia  in 
twenty  foHo  volumes.  This  seemed  to  him  a  veritable 
Golconda  of  endless  riches  of  information.  Each  of  the 
volumes  had  its  turn.  The  second  was  begun  as  soon 
as  the  first  was  finished,  and  the  reading  of  the  third 
followed,  and  so  on,  until  every  one  of  the  volumes  had 
been  completely  read.  References  to  other  volumes 
might  be  looked  up  occasionally,  but  this  did  not  dis- 
tract him  into  taking  other  portions  of  the  works  out  of 
alphabetical  order.  Surprising  as  it  must  seem,  most  of 
this  heterogeneous  mass  of  information,  far  from  being 
forgotten  at  once,  was  deeply  engraved  on  his  wonder- 


236  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ful  memory.  More  than  once  in  after-life,  when  many- 
years  had  passed,  it  was  a  surprise  to  his  friends  to  find 
how  much  information  Ampere  had  amassed  on  some 
abstruse  and  unfamiliar  subject,  and  how  readily  he 
was  able  to  pour  forth  details  of  information  that 
seemed  quite  out  of  his  line.  He  would  then  confess 
that  the  encyclopedia  article  on  the  subject,  read  so 
many  years  before,  was  still  fresh  in  his  mind,  or  at 
least  that  its  information  was  so  stored  away  as  to  be 
readily  available.  We  have  heard  much  of  Gladstone's 
memory  in  more  recent  years ;  but  that  seems  to  have 
been  nothing  compared  to  this  wonderful  faculty  which 
recalled  for  Ampere,  even  as  an  old  man,  the  unrelated 
details  of  every  encyclopedia  article  that  had  passed 
under  his  eyes  half  a  century  before,  when  he  was  a 
boy  of  ten  to  fourteen. 

The  modest  family  library  soon  proved  utterly  insuf- 
ficient to  occupy  the  mind  of  this  young,  enthusiastic 
student ;  and  his  father,  sympathetic  to  his  ardent 
curiosity,  took  him  to  Lyons  from  time  to  time,  where 
he  might  have  the  opportunity  to  consult  volumes  of 
various  kinds  that  might  catch  his  fancy.  At  this 
time,  his  old  mathematical  tendency  reasserted  itself. 
He  wished  to  learn  something  about  the  higher  mathe- 
matics. He  found  in  a  library  in  Lyons  the  works  of 
Bernoulli  and  of  Euler.  When  the  delicate-looking 
boy,  whom  the  librarian  considered  little  more  than  a 
child,  put  in  his  request  to  the  town  library  for  these 
serious  mathematical  works,  the  old  gentleman  said  to 
him:  "The  works  of  BernoulH  and  Euler!  What  are 
you  thinking  of,  my  little  friend  ?  These  works  figure 
among  the  most  diflScult  writings  that  ever  came  from 
the  mind  of  man."     "I  hope  to  be  able  to  understand 


ANDRE  MARIE   AMPERE  237 

them,"  replied  the  boy.  "I  suppose  you  know,"  said 
the  Hbrarian,  ** that  they  are  written  in  Latin."  This 
was  a  disagreeable  surprise  for  young  Ampere.  As 
yet  he  had  not  studied  Latin.  He  went  home,  resolved, 
however,  to  remove  this  hindrance  to  his  study  of  the 
higher  mathematics.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  owing 
to  his  assiduity,  the  obstacle  had  entirely  disappeared ; 
and  though  he  could  read  only  mathematical  Latin  and 
had  later  to  study  the  language  from  another  stand- 
point, in  order  to  understand  the  classics,  he  was  now 
able  to  pursue  the  study  of  mathematics  in  Latin  to  his 
heart's  content. 

The  even  tenor  of  the  boy's  life,  deeply  engaged  as 
he  was  in  studies  of  every  description,  was  destined  to 
be  very  seriously  disturbed.  When  he  was  but  four- 
teen, in  1789,  the  Revolution  came,  with  its  glorious 
promise  and  then  its  awful  consummation.  Ampere's 
father  was  seriously  alarmed  at  the  revolutionary  course 
things  were  taking  in  France,  and  had  the  fatal  inspir- 
ation to  leave  his  country  home  and  betake  himself  to 
the  city  of  Lyons.  For  a  time,  he  occupied  a  position 
as  magistrate.  After  the  siege  of  Lyons,  the  revolu- 
tionary tribunal  established  there  took  up  the  project  of 
making  the  Lyonnese  patriotic,  as  they  called  it,  by 
properly  punishing  the  citizens  for  their  failure  to  sym- 
pathize at  first  with  the  revolutionary  government,  and 
soon  a  series  of  horrible  massacres  began.  New  victims 
were  claimed  every  day,  and  Ampere's  father  was  one 
of  those  who  had  to  suffer.  The  real  reason  for  his 
condemnation  was  that  he  had  accepted  a  position 
under  the  old  government,  though  the  pretext  stated 
on  the  warrant  for  his  arrest  was  that  he  was  an 
aristocrat.    This  is  the  only  evidence  we  have  that  the 


238  MAKERS   OF  ELECTRICITY 

Ampere  family  was  in  any  way  connected  with  the- 
nobility.  The  day  on  which  he  was  sentenced  to  die, 
Jean  Jacques  Ampere  wrote  to  his  wife  a  letter  of 
sublime  simplicity,  in  which  his  Christian  resignation 
of  spirit,  his  lofty  courage,  yet  thoroughly  practical 
commonsense,  are  manifest.  He  warned  his  wife  to  say 
nothing  about  his  fate  to  their  daughter  Josephine, 
though  he  hoped  that  his  son  would  be  better  able  to 
stand  the  blow,  and  perhaps  prove  a  consolation  to  his 
mother. 

The  news  proved  almost  too  much  for  the  young; 
Ampere,  and  for  a  time  his  reason  was  despaired  of. 
All  his  faculties  seemed  to  be  shocked  for  the  moment 
into  insensibility.  Biographers  tell  us  that  he  wandered 
around,  building  httle  piles  of  sand,  gazing  idly  at  the 
stars  or  vacantly  into  space,  wearing  scarcely  any  of  the 
expression  of  a  rational  being.  His  friends  could  har- 
bor only  the  worst  possible  expectations  for  him,  and 
even  his  physical  health  suffered  so  much  that  it  seemed 
he  would  not  long  survive.  One  day,  by  chance,  Rous- 
seau's "Letters  on  Botany"  fell  into  his  hands.  They 
caught  his  attention,  and  he  became  interested  in  their 
charming  narrative  style,  and  as  a  result,  his  reason- 
awoke  once  more.  He  began  to  study  botany  in  the 
field,  and  soon  acquired  a  taste  for  the  reading  of 
Linnaeus.  At  the  same  time,  classic  poetry,  especially 
such  as  contained  descriptions  of  nature,  once  more^ 
appealed  to  him,  and  so  he  took  up  his  classical  studies. 
He  varied  the  reading  of  the  poets  with  dissections  of 
flowers,  and  yet  succeeded  in  following  both  sets  of 
studies  so  attentively  that,  forty  years  afterward,  he 
was  still  perfectly  capable  of  taking  up  the  technical' 
description  of  the  plants  that  he  had  then  studied,  and 


ANDR^  MARIE  AMP]^EE  23& 

while  acting  as  a  university  inspector,  he  composed  150 
Latin  verses  during  his  horseback  rides  from  one  inspec- 
tion district  to  another,  without  ever  having  to  consult 
a  gradus  or  a  dictionary  for  the  quantities,  yet  without 
making  a  single  mistake.  His  memory  for  subjects 
once  learned,  was  almost  literally  infallible. 

Something  of  his  love  for  nature  can  be  appreciated 
from  an  incident  of  his  early  manhood,  which  is  not 
without  its  amusing  side.  Ampere  was  very  near- 
sighted, and  had  been  able  to  read  books  all  his  life  only 
by  holding  them  very  close  to  his  eyes.  This  makes  it 
all  the  more  difficult  to  understand  how  he  succeeded  in 
reading  so  much.  His  near-sightedness  was  so  marked 
that  he  had  no  idea  of  beauties  of  scenery  beyond  him, 
and  was  often  rather  put  out  at  the  enthusiastic  descrip- 
tion of  scenes  through  which  he  passed  en  diligence, 
when  his  fellow-travelers  spoke  of  the  beauties  of  the 
scenes  around  them.  Ampere,  like  most  people  who  do 
not  share,  or  at  least  appreciate,  the  enthusiasm  of 
others  for  beautiful  things  around  them,  was  in  this 
mood,  mainly  because  he  was  not  able  to  see  them  in 
the  way  that  others  did,  and,  therefore,  could  not  have 
the  same  pleasure  in  them.  This  lack  in  himself  was 
unconscious,  of  course,  as  in  all  other  cases,  and,  far  from 
lessening,  rather  emphasized  the  tendency  to  be  impa- 
tient with  others,  and  rather  made  him  more  ready 
to  think  how  foolish  they  were  to  go  into  ecstasies  over 
something  that  to  him  was  so  insignificant. 

One  day,  while  Ampere  was  making  the  journey  along 
the  Saone  into  Lyons,  it  happened  that  there  sat  beside 
him  on  the  stage-coach  a  young  man  who  suffered  from 
near-sightedness  very  nearly  in  the  same  degree  as 
Ampere  himself,  but  whose  myopia  had  been  corrected 


'240  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

by  means  of  properly  fitting  glasses.  These  glasses 
were  just  exactly  what  Ampere  needed  in  order  to  cor- 
rect his  vision  completely.  The  young  fellows  became 
interested  in  each  other,  and,  during  the  course  of  their 
conversation,  his  companion  suggested  to  Ampere,  see- 
ing how  near-sighted  he  was,  that  he  should  try  his 
glasses.  He  put  them  on,  and  at  once  nature  presented 
herself  to  him  under  an  entirely  different  aspect.  The 
vision  was  so  unexpected,  that  the  description  which  he 
had  so  often  heard  from  his  fellow-travelers,  but  could 
not  appreciate,  now  recurred  to  him,  and  he  could  not 
help  exclaiming  in  raptures,  "Oh!  what  a  smiling  coun- 
try !  What  picturesque,  graceful  hills !  How  the  rich, 
warm  tones  are  harmoniously  blended  in  the  wonderful 
union  of  sky  and  mountain  vista ! "  All  of  these  now 
spoke  emphatically  to  his  delicate  sensibility,  and  a  new 
world  was  literally  revealed  to  him.  Ampere  was  so 
overcome  by  this  unexpected  sight,  which  gave  him  so 
much  pleasure,  that  he  burst  into  tears  from  depth  of 
emotion,  and  could  not  satisfy  himself  with  looking  at 
all  the  beauties  of  nature  that  had  been  hidden  from  him 
for  so  long.  Ever  after,  natural  scenery  was  one  of  the 
greatest  pleasures  that  he  had  in  life,  and  the  beauties 
of  nature,  near  or  distant,  meant  more  to  him  than  any 
other  gratification  of  the  senses. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  Ampere  had  devoted  con- 
siderable attention  to  acoustics  as  a  young  man,  and 
had  studied  the  ways  in  which  the  waves  of  air  by 
which  sounds  are  formed  and  propagated,  he  had 
absolutely  no  ear  for  music,  and  was  as  tone-deaf  as  he 
had  been  blind  before  his  discovery  with  regard  to  the 
glasses.  Musical  notes  constituted  a  mathematical 
problem  for  Ampere,  but  nothing  more.    This  continued 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  241 

to  be  the  case  until  about  thirty  years  of  age.  Then, 
one  day,  he  attended  a  musical  soiree,  at  which  the 
principal  portions  of  the  program  were  taken  from 
Gliick.  It  is  easy  to  understand  that  this  master  of 
harmony  possessed  no  charms  for  a  tone-deaf  young 
man.  He  became  uneasy  during  the  course  of  the 
musical  program,  and  his  uneasiness  became  manifest 
to  others.  After  the  selections  of  the  German  composer 
were  finished,  however,  some  simple  but  charming 
melodies  were  unexpectedly  introduced,  and  Ampere 
suddenly  found  himself  transported  into  a  new  world. 
If  we  are  to  believe  his  biographers,  once  more  his 
emotion  was  expressed  by  an  abundance  of  tears,  which 
Ampere  seems  to  have  had  at  command  and  to  have 
been  quite  as  ready  to  give  way  to  in  pubHc  as  any  of 
Homer's  heroes  of  the  olden  time.  Blind  until  he  was 
nearly  twenty,  he  used  to  say  of  himself,  he  had  been 
deaf  until  he  was  thirty.  In  spite  of  his  failure  to  re- 
spond in  youth,  once  it  had  been  awakened  to  apprecia- 
tion, his  soul  vibrated  profoundly  to  all  the  beauties  of 
color  and  sound,  and,  later  in  life,  they  gave  rise  in 
him  to  depths  of  emotion  which  calmer  individuals  of 
less  delicate  sensibilities  could  scarcely  understand,  much 
less  sympathize  with. 

Between  his  two  supreme  experiences  in  vision  and 
sound,  there  had  come  to  Ampere  another  and  even 
profounder  emotion.  He  tells  the  story  himself,  in 
words  that  probably  express  his  feelings  better  than 
any  possible  description  of  his  biographer  could  do,  and 
that  show  us  how  wonderfully  sensitive  his  soul  was  to 
emotion  of  all  kinds.  He  had  just  completed  his  twenty- 
first  year  when  he  fell  head  over  heels  in  love.  Though 
he  wrote  very  little,  as  a  rule,  he  has  left  us  a  rather 


242  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

detailed  description  in  diaries,  evidently  kept  for  the 
purpose,  of  the  state  of  his  feelings  at  this  time.  These 
bear  the  title,  "  Amorum,"  the  story  of  his  love.  On 
the  first  page  these  words  occur :  * '  One  day  as  I  was  tak- 
ing an  evening  walk,  just  after  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
making  my  way  along  a  little  brook,"  then  there  is  a 
hiatus,  and  he  was  evidently  quite  unable  to  express  all 
that  he  felt.  It  seems  that  he  was  gathering  botanical 
specimens,  wearing  an  excellent  set  of  spectacles  ever 
since  his  adventure  on  the  stage-coach  had  shown  him 
the  need  of  them,  when  he  suddenly  perceived  at  some 
distance  two  young  and  charming  girls  who  were  gath- 
ering flowers  in  the  field.  He  looked  at  one  of  them,  and 
he  knew  that  his  fate  was  sealed.  Up  to  that  time,  as 
he  says,  the  idea  of  marriage  had  never  9ccurred  to 
him.  One  might  think  that  the  idea  would  occur  very 
gently  at  first,  then  grow  little  by  little  ;  but  that  was 
not  Ampere's  way.  He  wanted  to  marry  her  that  very 
day.  He  did  not  know  her  name  ;  he  did  not  know  her 
family ;  he  had  never  even  heard  her  voice,  but  he 
knew  that  she  was  the  destined  one. 

Fortunately  for  the  young  lady  and  himself,  she  had 
very  sensible  parents.  They  demanded  how  he  would 
be  able  to  support  a  wife.  Ampere  was  quite  willing  to 
do  anything  that  they  should  suggest.  His  father  had 
left  enough  to  support  the  family,  but  not  enough  to 
enable  him  to  support  a  wife  in  an  independent  home  ; 
and  until  he  had  some  occupation,  the  parents  of  his 
bride-to-be  refused  to  listen  to  his  representations. 
For  a  time,  he  consented  to  be  a  salesman  in  a  silk  store 
in  Lyons,  in  order  to  have  some  occupation  which 
might  eventually  give  him  enough  money  to  enable  him 
to  marry.    Fortunately,  however,  he  was  diverted  from 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  243 

a  commercial  vocation  which  might  thus  have  absorbed 
a  great  scientist,  and  arrangements  were  made  which 
permitted  him  to  continue  his  intellectual  life,  yet  have 
the  woman  of  his  choice.  She  was  destined  to  make  life 
happier  far  for  him  than  is  the  usual  lot  of  man,  and  he 
was  ever  ready  to  acknowledge  how  much  she  meant 
for  his  happiness. 

With  literature,  poetry,  love  and  settling  down  in  life 
to  occupy  him,  it  is  hard  to  think  of  Ampere  as  a  young 
man  doing  great  work  in  science,  but  he  did ;  and  his 
work  deservedly  attracted  attention  even  from  his  very 
early  years.  It  was  in  pure  mathematics,  perhaps, 
above  all  other  branches,  that  Ampere  attracted  the 
attention  of  his  generation.  Ordinary  questions  he  did 
not  care  for.  Problems  which  the  fruitless  efforts  of 
twenty  centuries  had  pronounced  insoluble  attracted 
him  at  once.  Even  the  squaring  of  the  circle  claimed 
his  attention  for  a  while,  though  he  got  well  beyond  it 
even  before  his  boyhood  passed  away.  There  is  a 
manuscript  note  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Academy  of 
Lyons,  which  shows  that  on  July  8th,  1788,  Ampere, 
then  not  quite  thirteen  years  of  age,  addressed  to  that 
learned  body  a  paper  on  the  "Squaring  of  the  Circle.'* 
Later,  during  the  same  year,  he  submitted  an  analogous 
memoir,  entitled,  "The  Rectification  of  an  Arc  of  a 
Circle,  less  than  a  Semi-circumference." 

Arago  says  that  he  was  tempted  to  suppress  this  story 
of  Ampere's  coquetting  with  so  dangerous  a  problem, 
for  Ampere  rather  flattered  himself  that  he  had  almost 
solved  it.  It  was  only  after  Arago  recalled  how  many 
geniuses  in  mathematics  had  occupied  themselves  with 
this  same  problem,  that  he  saw  his  way  clearly  not  to 
share  the  scruples  of  those  who  might  think  this  in- 


244  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

cident  a  reflection  on  Ampere's  mathematical  genius. 
After  all,  Anaxagoras,  Hippocrates,  Archimedes  and 
Apollonius,  among  the  ancients,  and  among  the  moderns, 
Willebrod  Snell,  Huyghens,  Gregory,  Wallis,  and  finally 
Newton,  the  mathematician  of  the  heavens,  occupied 
themselves  seriously  with  this  very  problem.  Arago 
even  notes  that  some  men,  by  their  speculations  on  the 
squaring  of  the  circle,  were  led  to  distinguished  dis- 
coveries, and  mentions  the  name  of  Father  Gregoire  de 
Saint- Vincent,  the  distinguished  Flemish  mathematician 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  to  whom,  as  a  direct  result  of 
his  studies  in  attempted  circle-squaring,  we  owe  the 
discovery  of  the  properties  of  hyperbolic  space,  limited 
by  the  curve  and  its  asymptotes,  as  well  as  the  expan- 
sion of  log  (i+x)  in  ascending  powers  of  x.  Mon- 
tucla,  the  historian  of  mathematics,  writing  of  Pere 
Saint- Vincent,  said  that,  "No  one  ever  squared  the 
circle  with  so  much  ability  or  with  so  much  success." 
There  was,  however,  a  fallacy  in  his  magnificent  work 
which  was  pointed  out  by  the  celebrated  Huyghens. 

Shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
Ampere,  as  one  of  his  French  biographers  rather  char- 
acteristically declares,  redeemed  whatever  of  mathe- 
matical sinning  there  might  have  been,  in  indulging  in 
fond  dalliance  with  the  squaring  of  the  circle,  by  a  series 
of  mathematical  papers,  each  of  which  was  in  itself  a 
distinct  advance  on  previous  knowledge,  and  at  the 
same  time,  definite  evidence  of  his  mathematical  ability. 
The  first  paper,  published  in  1801,  was  a  contribution  to 
solid  geometry,  bearing  the  title,  "On  Oblique  Polyhe- 
drons." His  next  paper,  written  in  1803,  though  not 
published  until  1808,  was  a  treatise  on  the  advantages 
to  be  derived  in  the  theory  of  curves  from  due  consid- 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  2Ab 

eration  of  the  osculatir.::  parabola.  Another  treatise, 
written  about  the  same  time,  had  for  title,  "Investi- 
gations on  the  Application  of  the  General  Formulae  of 
the  Calculus  of  Variations  to  Problems  in  Mechanics." 
This  concerned  problems  which  had  interested  and,  in 
Kiost  cases,  proved  too  hard  of  solution  even  for  such 
men  as  Galileo,  Jacques  Bernoulli,  Leibnitz,  Huyghens 
and  Jean  Bernoulli.  Arago's  expression  with  regard  to 
this  work  is  :  "  The  treatise  of  Ampere  contains,  in  fact, 
new  and  very  remarkable  properties  of  the  catenary 
(la  chainette)  and  its  development. "  He  adds :  ' '  There 
is  no  small  merit  in  discovering  hiatuses  in  subjects  ex- 
plored by  such  men  as  Leibnitz,  Huyghens  and  the  two 
Bernoullis.  I  must  not  forget  to  add  that  the  analysis 
of  our  associate  unites  elegance  with  simplicity." 

It  is  not  surprising,  after  such  marks  of  mathematical 
genius,  that  Ampere  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of 
mathematics  at  the  Ecole  Polytechnique,  where  he  came 
to  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of 
French  mathematicians.  In  1813,  he  became  a  candi- 
date for  the  position  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  the 
famous  Lagrange ;  and  at  this  time,  presented  to  the 
Academy  general  considerations  on  the  integration  of 
partial  differential  equations  of  the  first  and  the  second 
order.  After  his  election  to  the  Academy,  Ampere  con- 
tinued to  present  important  papers  at  its  various  ses- 
sions. Among  these,  three  are  especially  noteworthy : 
one  was  a  demonstration  of  Pere  Mariotte's  law  (known 
to  English  students  as  Boyle's  law) ;  another  bore  the 
title,  "  Demonstration  of  a  new  Theory  from  which  can 
be  deduced  all  the  Laws  of  Refraction,  ordinary  and  extra- 
ordinary "  ;  a  third  was  a  memoir  on  the  "Determination 
of  the  curved  surfaces  of  Luminous  Waves  in  a  medium 


246  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

whose  Elasticity  differs  in  each  of  the  three  dimen- 
sions." 

In  his  eulogy  of  Ampere,  which,  together  with  his 
article  in  the  ''Dictionnaire  Universelle  de  Biographie, " 
we  have  followed  rather  closely,  Arago  calls  particular 
attention  to  the  fact  that  in  Paris,  Ampere  moved  in 
two  intellectual  circles  quite  widely  separated  in  their 
interests  and  sympathies.  Among  the  first  group,  were 
the  members  of  the  old  "Institute  "  and  professors  and 
examiners  of  the  Ecole  Polytechnique  and  professors  of 
the  College  de  France.  In  the  other,  were  the  men 
whose  names  have  since  become  widely  known  as  stu- 
dents of  pyschology,  of  whom  Cabanis  may  be  taken  as 
the  representative.  Ampere  had  as  great  a  passion  for 
pyschology,  and  was  as  ready  to  devote  himself  to 
fathoming  and  analyzing  the  mysteries  of  the  mind,  as 
he  was  to  work  out  a  problem  in  advanced  mathematics, 
or  throw  light  on  difficult  questions  in  the  physical 
sciences.  These  two  sets  of  interests  are  seldom  united 
in  the  same  man,  though  occasionally  they  are  found. 
At  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century,  we  had  the  spec- 
tacle of  very  distinguished  men  of  science  in  physics,  and 
even  in  biology— Sir  William  Crookes,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge, 
Professor  Charles  Richet,  Professor  Lombroso  and  even 
Mr.  Alfred  Russell  Wallace— interested  in  psychic  and 
spiritualistic  manifestations  of  many  kinds  as  well  as  in 
natural  science ;  and,  inasmuch  as  they  did  so,  they 
would  have  found  Ampere  a  brother  spirit.  Ampere 
indeed  dived  rather  deeply  into  what  would  be  called, 
somewhat  slightingly,  perhaps,  in  our  generation,  meta- 
physical speculation.  At  one  time,  he  contemplated  the 
publication  of  a  book  which  was  to  be  called  "An 
Introduction  to  Philosophy."    He  had  made  elaborate 


ANDR^  MARIE   AMPERE  2A1 

theories  with  regard  to  many  metaphysical  questions, 
and  had  written  articles  on  "The  Theory  of  Relations," 
"The  History  of  Existence,"  "  Subjective  and  Objective 
Knowledge"  and  "Absolute  Morahty."  Arago  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Napoleon's  famous  anathema 
against  ideology,  far  from  discouraging  Ampere,  rather 
seemed  to  stimulate  him  in  his  studies,  and  he  declared 
that  it  would  surely  contribute  to  the  propagation  of 
this  kind  of  speculation,  rather  than  to  its  suppression. 
It  was  simply  another  case  of  Napoleon  overreaching 
himself,  though  this  was  in  the  domain  of  ideas  and  not 
in  the  realm  of  politics,  where  his  fate  was  to  reach  him 
some  time  later. 

How  deeply  interested  Ampere  became  in  metaphysics 
will  perhaps  be  best  appreciated  from  the  fact  that,  for 
progress  in  metaphysics,  exercise  in  disputation  is 
needed,  and  had  been  the  custom  in  the  old  medieval 
universities.  Ampere  once  made  an  arrangement  to 
travel  from  Paris  to  Lyons  and  stay  there  for  some 
time,  provided  a  definite  promise  was  made  that  at  least 
four  afternoons  a  week  should  be  devoted  to  discussions 
on  ideology.  The  journey  to  Lyons,  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  was  no  easy  undertaking  in 
those  days.  The  Paris,  Lyons  and  Mediterranean  Ex- 
press now  whirls  one  down  to  the  capital  of  the  silk  dis- 
trict in  a  night;  but  in  Ampere's  time,  it  took  many  days, 
and  the  journey  was  by  no  means  without  inconveniences, 
which  were  likely  to  be  so  troublesome  that  a  prolonged 
rest  was  needed  after  it  was  over.  Ampere  seems  quite 
to  have  exhausted  the  interest  of  his  friends  in  Lyons, 
who  found  his  metaphysical  speculations  too  high  for 
them,  though  they  themselves  were  specializing  in  the 
subject  and  would  be  glad  to  tempt  him  into  discussions 


248  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

of  the  exact  sciences  ;  but  in  lyrical  strain  he  apostro- 
phizes psychological  studies  :  '  *  How  can  I  abandon  the 
country,  the  flowers  and  running  waters  for  the  arid 
streets  of  the  city  !  How  give  up  streams  and  groves 
for  deserts  scorched  by  the  rays  of  a  mathematical  sun, 
which,  diffusing  over  all  surrounding  objects  the  most 
brilliant  light,  withers  and  dries  them  down  to  the  very 
roots !  How  much  more  agreeable  to  wander  under 
flitting  shades,  where  truth  seems  to  flee  before  us  to 
incite  us  to  pursue,  than  walk  in  straight  paths  where 
the  eye  embraces  all  at  a  glance  !" 

Had  Ampere  been  less  successful  as  a  mathematician 
or  an  investigator  of  physical  science,  these  expressions' 
would  seem  little  short  of  ridiculous.  As  it  is,  they 
provide  food  for  thought.  Ampere  seemed  to  realize 
that,  for  the  intellectual  man,  the  only  satisfaction  was 
not  in  successful  research  so  much  as  in  application  of 
mind  to  what  promised  results.  As  in  everything  else, 
it  was  the  chase,  and  not  the  capture,  that  counted. 
Seldom  has  this  idea  been  apphed  to  intellectual  things 
with  so  much  force  as  it  seems  to  have  appealed  to 
Ampere,  and  one  is  reminded  of  Malebranche's  famous 
expression,  "If  I  had  truth  in  my  hand,  I  would  be 
tempted  to  let  it  go  for  the  pleasure  of  recapturing  it.'* 

The  principal  source  of  Ampere's  fame,  however,  for 
future  generations,  was  to  be  in  his  researches  in  the 
science  of  electro-dynamics.  The  name  of  this  science 
will  ever  be  inseparably  linked  with  that  of  Ampere,  its 
founder.  It  was  for  that  reason,  of  course,  that  the 
International  Congress  of  Electricians  decided  to  give  his 
name  to  the  unit  of  current  strength,  so  that  it  has  now 
become  a  household  word,  and  will  continue  so  for  ages 
to  come.    In  spite  of  the  resemblances,  much  more  than 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  2A9 

superficial,  between  magnetism  and  electricity,  the  iden- 
tification of  these  two  with  each  other  seemed  as  yet 
very  distant.  It  is  curiously  interesting,  however,  to 
note  that  Ampere  himself,  in  a  program  of  his  course, 
printed  in  1802,  announced  that  the  "professor  will 
demonstrate  that  electrical  and  magnetic  phenomena 
must  be  attributed  to  two  different  fluids  which  act  in- 
dependently of  each  other."  Ampere's  fame  was  to  be 
founded  on  the  direct  contradiction  of  this  proposition, 
which  he  proposed  and  triumphantly  defended  by  a 
marvelous,  series  of  experimental  illustrations  eighteen 
years  later.'  In  the  meantime,  the  discovery  of  another 
distinguished  scientist,  doing  his  work  many  hundreds 
of  miles  away,  was  to  prove  the  stimulus  to  Ampere's 
constructive  imagination,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  fill  out 
many  obscure  points  of  knowledge  with  regard  to  mag- 
netism and  electricity. 

This  suggestive  discovery  was  that  of  Oersted,  the 
sketch  of  whose  life  and  work  immediately  precedes 
this.  Oersted  demonstrated  that  a  current  of  electricity 
will  affect  a  magnetic  needle.  This  epoch-making  dis- 
covery reached  Paris  by  way  of  Switzerland.  The 
experiment  was  repeated  before  the  French  Academy 
of  Sciences  by  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Geneva,  on 
September  11th,  1820.  The  date  has  some  importance 
in  the  history  of  science,  for  just  seven  days  later,  on 
the  18th  of  September,  Ampere  presented,  at  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  still  more  important 
fact,  to  which  he  had  been  led  by  the  consideration  of 
Oersted's  discovery  while  testing  it  by  way  of  control 
experiment.  This  brilliant  discovery  of  Ampere,  Arago 
summed  up  in  these  words :  "  Two  parallel  conducting 
wires  attract  each  other  when  the  current  traverses  them 


250  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

in  the  same  direction.  On  the  contrary,  they  repel 
each  other  when  the  current  flows  in  opposite  directions. 
The  phenomenon  described  by  Oersted  was  called,  very 
appropriately,  electromagnetic,  whilst  the  phenomena 
described  by  Ampere,  in  which  the  magnet  played  no 
part,  received  at  his  suggestion  the  general  name  of 
electro-dynamics,  which  has  since  been  applied  to  them. " 

At  first  it  was  said  that  these  phenomena  were  nothing 
more  than  manifestations  of  the  ordinary  attractive  and 
repelling  power  of  the  two  forms  of  electricity  which 
had  been  so  carefully  studied,  especially  in  France,  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century.  Ampere  at  once  disposed 
of  any  such  idea  as  this,  however,  by  pointing  out  that 
bodies  similarly  electrified  repel  each  other,  whilst  those 
that  are  in  opposite  electrical  states  attract  each  other. 
In  the  case  of  conductors  conveying  currents,  there  is 
attraction  when  these  are  in  the  same  direction,  and 
repulsion  when  they  flow  in  the  opposite  direction.  This 
reasoning  absolutely  precluded  all  possibility  of  further 
doubt  in  the  matter,  and  this  particular  form  of  objec- 
tion to  Ampere's  discoveries  was  dropped  at  once. 

Having  satisfactorily  disposed  of  other  objections. 
Ampere  was  content  neither  to  rest  quietly  in  his  dis- 
covery nor  merely  to  develop  various  experimental  phases 
of  it  which  would  be  extremely  interesting  and  popu- 
larly attractive,  but  which  at  the  same  time  might  mean 
very  little  for  science.  With  his  mathematical  mind,  Am- 
pere resolved  to  work  out  a  mathematical  theory  which 
would  embrace  not  only  all  the  phenomena  of  magnetism 
then  known,  but  also  the  complete  theory  of  the  science 
of  electro-dynamics.  Needless  to  say,  such  a  problem  was 
extremely  diflficult.  Arago  has  compared  it  to  Newton's 
.solution  of  the  problem  of  gravitation  by  mathematics. 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPMe  251 

Considering  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  data 
that  Ampere  had  at  his  command,  this  problem  might 
very  well  be  compared  to  that  which  Leverrier  took  up 
with  so  much  success,  when  he  set  about  discovering  by 
calculation  only  the  planet  Neptune,  as  yet  unknown, 
which  was  disturbing  the  movements  of  Uranus. 

It  might  be  thought  that  these  discoveries  of  Ampere 
would  be  welcomed  with  great  enthusiasm.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  new  discoveries  that  are  really  novel 
always  have,  as  almost  their  surest  index,  the  fact  that 
contemporaries  refuse  to  accept  them.  The  more  versed 
a  man  is  in  the  science  in  which  the  discovery  comes,  the 
more  likely  is  he  to  delay  his  acceptance  of  the  novelty. 
This  is  not  so  surprising,  since,  as  a  rule,  new  discoveries 
are  nearly  always  very  simple  expressions  of  great  truths 
that  seem  obvious  once  they  are  accepted,  yet  have  never 
been  thought  of.  They  mean,  therefore,  that  men  who 
consider  themselves  distinguished  in  a  particular  science 
have  missed  some  easily  discoverable  phenomenon  or  its 
full  significance,  and  so,  to  accept  a  new  discovery  in 
their  department  of  learning  men  must  confess  their 
own  lack  of  foresight. 

It  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  same  thing  happened 
with  regard  to  Ohm,  only  it  was  much  more  serious. 
Years  of  Ohm's  life  were  wasted  because  of  the  refusal 
of  his  contemporaries  to  accept  his  "law"  at  his  valu- 
ation. Arago,  in  his  life  of  Ampere,  recalls  that  when 
Fresnel  discovered  the  transverse  character  of  waves  of 
light,  his  observations  created  the  same  doubts  and  un- 
certainty in  the  same  individuals  who  a  few  years  later 
refused  to  accept  Ampere's  conclusions.  Arago  puts  it, 
that  as  he  was  ambitious  of  a  high  place  in  the  world  of 


252  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ideas,  he  should  have  expected  to  find  his  adversaries 
precisely  those  already  occupying  the  highest  places. 

Ampere  never  looked  on  himself  as  a  mere  specialist 
in  physical  science,  however,  and  it  is  extremely  inter- 
esting to  know  that  he  dared  to  take  sides  in  a  discus- 
sion between  Cuvier  and  Geoffroy- Saint -Hilaire,  with 
regard  to  the  unity  of  structure  in  organized  beings. 
While  the  purely  physical  scientists  mostly  sat  mute 
during  the  discussion,  Ampere  took  an  active  share  in  it, 
and  ventured  to  subject  himself  to  what  perhaps,  above 
all  things,  a  Frenchman  dreads,  the  ridicule  of  his  col- 
leagues. Arago  thought  that  he  held  his  own  very  well 
in  this  discussion,  which  involved  some  of  the  ideas  that 
were  afterwards  to  be  the  subject  of  profound  study  and 
prolonged  investigation  later  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
because  of  the  announcement  of  the  theory  of  evolution. 

After  his  discoveries  in  electricity  Ampere  came  to  be 
acknowledged  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  living  scientists, 
and  was  honored  as  such  by  most  of  the  distinguished 
scientific  societies  of  Europe.  His  work  was  not  con- 
fined to  electricity  alone,  however,  and  late  in  life  he 
prepared  what  has  been  well  called  a  remarkable  work 
on  the  classification  of  the  sciences.  This  showed  that, 
far  from  being  a  mere  electrical  specialist  or  even  a 
profound  thinker  in  physics,  he  understood  better  prob- 
ably than  any  man  of  his  time  the  interrelations  of  the 
sciences  to  one  another.  He  was  a  broad-minded,  pro- 
found thinker  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  words,  and  in 
many  things  seems  to  have  had  almost  an  intuition  of 
the  intimate  processes  of  nature ;  a  sharer  in  secrets  as 
yet  unrevealed,  though  he  was  at  the  same  time  an 
untiring  experimenter,  eminently  successful,  as  is  so 
evident  in  his  electrical  researches,  in  arranging  experi- 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMPERE  253 

ments  so  as  to  compel  answers  to  the  questions  which 
iie  put  to  nature. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  preoccupation  of  mind  with 
science  and  all  the  scientific  problems  that  were  working 
in  men's  minds  in  his  time,  from  the  constitution  of 
matter  to  the  nature  of  life,  above  all  engaged  in 
experimental  work,  he  was  a  deeply  religious  man  in 
Ms  opinions  and  practices.  He  had  indeed  the  simple 
piety  of  a  child.  During  the  awful  period  of  the  French 
Revolution,  he  had  some  doubts  with  regard  to  religious 
truths  ;  but  once  these  were  dispelled,  he  became  one  of 
the  most  faithful  practical  Catholics  of  his  generation. 
He  seldom  passed  a  day  without  finding  his  way  into  a 
(Church,  and  his  favorite  form  of  prayer  was  the  rosary, 

Frederick  Ozanam  tells  the  story  of  how  he  himself, 
overtaken  by  misgivings  with  regard  to  faith,  and 
roaming  almost  aimlessly  through  the  streets  of  Paris 
trying  to  think  out  solutions  for  his  doubts,  and  the 
problems  that  would  so  insistently  present  themselves 
respecting  the  intellectual  foundations  of  Christianity, 
finally  wandered  one  day  into  a  church,  and  found 
Ampere  there  in  an  obscure  corner,  telling  his  beads. 
Ozanam  himself  was  moved  to  do  the  same  thing,  for 
Ampere  was  then  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  greatest 
living  scientists  of  France.  Under  the  magic  touch  of 
an  example  like  this  and  the  quiet  influence  of  prayer, 
Ozanam's  doubts  vanished,  never  to  return. 

Saint-Beuve,  whose  testimony  in  a  matter  like  this 
would  surely  be  unsuspected  of  any  tendency  to  make 
Ampere  more  Catholic  than  he  was,  in  his  introduction 
to  Ampere's  essay  on  the  Philosophy  of  the  Sciences 
{Paris,  1843),  says: 

^'The  rehgious  struggles  and  doubts  of  his  earlier  life 


254  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

had  ceased.  What  disturbed  him  now  lay  in  less  exalted 
regions.  Years  ago,  his  interior  conflicts,  his  instinctive 
yearning  for  the  Eternal,  and  a  lively  correspondence 
with  his  old  friend,  Father  Barrett,  combined  with  the 
general  tendency  of  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  had 
led  him  back  to  that  faith  and  devotion  which  he 

expressed  so  strikingly  in  1803 During  the  years 

which  followed,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  we  were 
filled  with  wonder  and  admiration  at  the  way  in  which, 
without  effort,  he  united  religion  and  science ;  faith  and 
confidence  in  the  intellectual  possibilities  of  man  with 
adoring  submission  to  the  revealed  word  of  God." 

Ozanam,  to  whose  thoroughly  practical  Christianity 
while  he  was  professor  of  Foreign  Literatures  at  the 
University  of  Paris  we  owe  the  foundation  of  the  Con- 
ferences of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  which  so  long  antici- 
pated the  "settlement  work"  of  the  modern  time  and 
have  done  so  much  for  the  poor  in  large  cities  ever  since, 
was  very  close  to  Ampere,  lived  with  him  indeed  for  a 
while,  said  that,  no  matter  where  conversations  with 
him  began,  they  always  led  up  to  God.  The  great 
French  scientist  and  philosopher  used  to  take  his  broad 
forehead  between  his  hands  after  he  had  been  discuss- 
ing some  specially  deep  question  of  science  or  philosophy 
and  say  :  "How  great  is  God,  Ozanam !  How  great  is 
God  and  how  little  is  our  knowledge  ! "  Of  course  this 
has  been  the  expression  of  most  profound  thinkers  at 
all  times.  St.  Augustine's  famous  vision  of  the  angel 
standing  by  the  sea  emptying  it  out  with  a  teaspoon, 
which  has  been  rendered  so  living  for  most  of  us  by  Bot- 
ticelli's great  picture,  is  but  an  earlier  example  of  the 
same  thing.  One  of  Ampere's  greatest  contemporaries, 
Laplace,  re-echoed  the  same  sentiment,  perhaps  in  less 


ANDR^  MARIE  AMPERE  255; 

striking  terms,  when  he  declared  that  what  we  know  is 
but  little,  while  what  we  do  not  know  is  infinite. 

For  anyone  who  desires  to  study  the  beautiful  Chris- 
tian simplicity  of  a  truly  great  soul,  there  is  no  better 
human  document  than  the  "Journal  and  Correspondence 
of  Ampere,"  published  some  years  after  his  death.  He 
himself  wrote  out  the  love  story  of  his  life  ;  and  it  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  most  charming  of  narratives,  cer- 
tainly the  most  delightful  autobiographic  story  of  this 
kind  that  has  ever  been  told.  It  is  human  to  the  very 
core,  and  it  shows  a  wonderfully  sympathetic  character 
in  a  great  man,  whose  work  was  destined  a  few  years 
later  to  revolutionize  physics  and  to  found  the  practical 
science  of  electro-dynamics. 

When  Ampere's  death  was  impending,  it  was  sug- 
gested that  a  chapter  of  the  "Imitation  of  Christ" 
should  be  read  to  him ;  but  he  said,  no !  declaring  that 
he  preferred  to  be  left  alone  for  a  while,  as  he  knew  the 
"Imitation"  by  heart  and  would  repeat  those  chapters 
in  which  he  found  most  consolation.  With  the  prof ound- 
est  sentiments  of  piety  and  confidence  in  Providence, 
he  passed  away  June  10th,  1836,  at  Marseilles. 

With  all  his  solid  piety,  this  man  was  not  so  distant 
from  ordinary  worldly  affairs  as  not  to  take  a  lively 
interest  in  all  that  was  happening  around  him  and, 
above  all,  all  that  concerned  the  welfare  of  men.  He 
was  especially  enthusiastic  for  the  freedom  of  the  South 
American  Republics,  eagerly  following  the  course  of 
Bolivar  and  Canaris,  and  rejoicing  at  the  success  of 
their  efforts.  South  American  patriots  visiting  Paris 
found  a  warm  welcome  at  his  hands,  and  also  introduc- 
tions that  made  life  pleasant  for  them  at  the  French 
capital.    His  house  was  always  open  to  them,  and  no 


256  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

service  that  he  performed  for  them  seemed  too  much. 

Ampere  was  beloved  by  his  family  and  his  friends ; 
he  was  perhaps  the  best  liked  man  among  his  circle  of 
acquaintances  in  Paris  because  of  the  charming  genial- 
ity of  his  character  and  his  manifold  interests.  He  was 
kind,  above  all,  to  rising  young  men  in  the  intellectual 
world  around  him,  and  was  looked  up  to  by  many  of 
them  as  almost  a  second  father.  His  charity  towards  the 
poor  was  proverbial,  and  this  side  of  his  personality 
and  career  deserves  to  be  studied  quite  as  much  as 
what  he  was  able  to  accomplish  for  science.  The 
beauty  of  his  character  was  rooted  deeply  in  the  religion 
that  he  professed,  and  in  our  day,  when  it  has  come  to 
be  the  custom  for  so  many  to  think  that  science  and 
faith  are  inalterably  opposed,  the  lesson  of  this  life,  so 
deeply  imbued  with  both  of  these  great  human  interests, 
deserves  to  be  studied.  Ozanam,  who  knew  him  best, 
has  brought  out  this  extremely  interesting  union  of 
intellectual  quahties,  in  a  passage  that  serves  very 
well  to  sum  up  the  meaning  of  Ampere's  life. 

"In  addition  to  his  scientific  achievements,"  says 
Ozanam,  "  this  brilliant  genius  has  other  claims  upon 
our  admiration  and  affection.  He  was  our  brother  in 
the  faith.  It  was  religion  which  guided  the  labors  of 
his  mind  and  illuminated  his  contemplations ;  he  judged 
all  things,  science  itself,  by  the  exalted  standard  of 

religion This  venerable  head  which  was  crowned  by 

achievements  and  honors,  bowed  without  reserve  before 
the  mysteries  of  faith,  down  even  below  the  line  which 
the  Church  has  marked  for  us.  He  prayed  before  the 
same  altars  before  which  Descartes  and  Pascal  had 
knelt ;  beside  the  poor  widow  and  the  small  child  who 
Jtnay  have  been  less  humble  in  mind  than  he  was.    No- 


ANDRE  MARIE  AMP^JRE  257 

body  observed  the  regulations  of  the  Church  more 
conscientiously,  regulations  which  are  so  hard  on  nature 
and  yet  so  sweet  in  the  habit.  Above  all  things,  how- 
ever, it  is  beautiful  to  see  what  sublime  things  Chris- 
tianity wrought  in  his  great  soul ;  this  admirable 
simplicity,  the  unassumingness  of  a  mind  that  recog- 
nized everything  except  its  own  genius ;  this  high 
rectitude  in  matters  of  science,  now  so  rare,  seeking 
nothing  but  the  truth  and  never  rewards  and  distinc- 
tion ;  the  pleasant  and  ungrudging  amiability ;  and  last- 
ly, the  kindness  with  which  he  met  everyone,  especially 
young  people.  I  can  say  that  those  who  know  onljr  the 
intelligence  of  the  man,  know  only  the  less  perfect  part. 
If  he  thought  much,  he  loved  more." 


258  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ohm,  the  Founder  of  Mathematical  Electricity. 

Lord  Kelvin,  himself  one  of  the  greatest  of  the 
electrical  scientists  of  the  nineteenth  century,  in  com- 
menting some  years  ago  on  Ohm's  law,  said  that  it  was 
such  an  extremely  simple  expression  of  a  great  truth  in 
electricity,  that  its  significance  is  probably  not  confined 
to  that  department  of  physical  phenomena,  but  that  it 
is  a  law  of  nature  in  some  much  broader  way.  Re-echo- 
ing-this  expression  of  his  colleague.  Professor  George 
Chrystal,  of  Edinburgh,  in  his  article  on  electricity  in 
the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  (IX.  edition),  says  that 
Ohm's  law  "must  now  be  allowed  to  rank  with  the  law 
of  gravitation  and  the  elementary  laws  of  statical  elec- 
tricity as  a  law  of  nature  in  the  strictest  sense."  In  a 
word,  to  these  leaders  and  teachers  in  physical  science 
of  the  generation  after  his,  though  within  a  compara- 
tively short  time  after  Ohm's  death,  there  has  come  the 
complete  realization  of  the  absolutely  fundamental 
character  of  the  discovery  made  by  George  Simon  Ohm, 
when  he  promulgated  the  principle  that  a  current  of 
electricity  is  to  be  measured  by  the  electromotive  force, 
divided  by  the  resistance  in  the  circuit.  The  very 
simplicity  of  this  expression  is  its  supreme  title  to 
represent  a  great  discovery  in  natural  science.  It  is 
the  men  who  reach  such  absolutely  simple  formulae  for 
great  fundamental  truths  that  humanity  has  come,  and 


GEORGE  SIMON    OHM  259 

rightly,  to  consider  as  representing  its  greatest  men  in 
science. 

Like  most  of  the  distinguished  discoverers  in  science 
who  have  displayed  marked  originality,  Ohm  came 
from  what  is  usually  called  the  lower  classes,  his  ances- 
tors having  had  to  work  for  their  living  for  as  long  as 
the  history  of  the  family  can  be  traced.  His  father 
was  a  locksmith,  and  succeeded  his  father  at  the  trade. 
The  head  of  the  family  for  many  generations  had  been 
engaged  at  this  handicraft.  The  first  of  them  of  whom 
there  is  any  definite  record  was  Ohm's  great-grand- 
father, Wilhelm  Ohm,  who  was  a  locksmith  at  Wester- 
holt,  not  far  from  Miinster,  in  Westphalia.  Wilhelm 
Ohm's  son,  Johann  Vincent,  the  grandfather  of  the  great 
electrician,  during  his  years  as  a  journeyman  locksmith 
had  spent  some  time  in  France,  and  subsequently  set- 
tled down  in  Kadolzburg,  a  small  suburb  of  Erlangen,  in 
Bavaria.  In  1764,  he  obtained  the  position  of  locksmith 
to  the  University  of  Erlangen,  and  became  a  citizen  of 
that  municipality.  Both  of  his  sons  followed  the  trade 
of  their  father. 

The  elder  of  these,  Johann  Wolfgang,  worked  at  his 
trade  as  a  journeyman  in  a  number  of  the  small  cities 
of  Germany,  and  only  after  ten  years  of  absence  in 
what,  because  of  the  independent  condition  of  the  States 
now  known  as  the  German  Empire,  were  then  consid- 
ered foreign  parts,  did  he  wander  back  to  his  native 
place.  On  his  return  he  received  the  mastership  in  his 
craft,  and  shortly  after,  about  1786,  married  a  young 
woman  named  Beck.  George  Simon  Ohm,  the  electrical 
scientist,  was  the  first  child  of  this  marriage,  and  was 
born  March  16th,  1789.  A  second  son,  born  three  years 
later,  also  became  distinguished  in  after-life  for  his 


260  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

mathematical  ability.  This  younger  brother,  after 
having  filled  a  number  of  teaching  positions  in  various 
German  educational  institutions,  was  called  as  professor 
of  mathematics  to  Berlin,  where  he  died  in  1862. 

While  their  father,  Johann  Wolfgang  Ohm,  followed 
his  trade  of  locksmith  for  a  living,  like  many  another 
handicraftsman,  he  had  many  mental  interests  which 
he  cultivated  in  leisure  hours,  and  doubtless  dwelt  on 
while  his  hands  were  occupied  with  the  mere  routine 
work  of  his  trade.  It  is  curiously  interesting  to  find 
that  he  devoted  himself,  during  the  hours  he  could  spare 
from  his  occupation,  to  two  such  diverse  intellectual  oc- 
cupations as  mathematics  and  Kant's  philosophy ;  but 
they  had  no  newspapers  in  those  days,  and  a  man,  even 
of  the  artisan  class,  had  some  time  for  serious  mental 
occupation.  It  might  be  thought,  under  these  circum- 
stances, that  he  would  be  but  the  most  passing  of 
amateurs  in  either  of  these  subjects,  and  have  a  very 
superficial  knowledge  of  them.  This  probably  was  true 
for  his  philosophy  fad,  for  there  are  not  many  who  have 
ever  thought  themselves  more  than  amateurs  in  Kant- 
ism,  and  even  Kant  himself,  I  believe,  thought  that  only 
one  scholar  ever  really  understood  his  system,  and 
subsequently  said  he  had  some  doubts  even  about  that 
one ;  but  in  mathematics,  the  elder  Ohm  seems  to  have 
attained  noteworthy  success. 

Hofrath  Langsdorff,  who  was  the  professor  of  mathe- 
matics at  Erlangen  during  the  last  decade  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  and  who  was  called  to  Heidelberg  in  1804, 
a  fact  that  would  seem  quite  enough  to  set  beyond  all 
question  that  his  opinion  in  this  matter  may  be  taken 
as  that  of  a  competent  judge,  declared  that  the  elder 
Ohm's  mathematical  knowledge  was  far  above  the  ordin- 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  261 

ary,  and  that  he  knew  much  more  than  the  elements  even 
of  the  higher  mathematics.  Under  these  circumstances, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  father  should  have  tried  to 
encourage  in  both  his  boys  a  taste  for  mathematics,  nor 
that  he  should  have  taken  their  mathematical  instruc- 
tion into  his  own  hands  and  succeeded  in  making  excel- 
lent mathematicians  of  them,  even  in  their  early  years. 
He  was  so  successful  in  this,  indeed,  that  Langsdorff, 
after  a  five-hour  examination  of  the  brothers  when  they 
were  respectively  12  and  15,  did  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  the  Erlangen  locksmith's  family  was  likely  to  be 
remembered  as  containing  a  pair  of  brothers  who,  for 
success  in  mathematics,  might  rival  the  famous  Ber- 
noulli brothers,  so  well  known  at  that  time. 

This  might  be  thought  only  a  bit  of  neighborly  praise, 
meant  to  warm  a  father's  heart,  yet  it  seems  indeed  to 
have  been  given  quite  seriously.  Certainly  the  event  jus- 
tified the  prophecy.  It  is  not  surprising  that,  with  such  a 
forecast  to  encourage  him,  the  father  should  have  been 
ready  to  make  every  sacrifice  to  enable  both  his  sons  to 
prepare  for  the  university. 

He  continued  his  instruction  of  them,  then,  in  mathe- 
matics, though  he  insisted  at  the  same  time  that  they 
should  continue  to  keep  up  their  occupation  of  lock- 
smiths. In  spite  of  his  enthusiasm  for  mathematics,  the 
old  gentleman  seems  to  have  cherished  no  illusions  with 
regard  to  the  likelihood  of  pure  mathematics  ever  serv- 
ing them  as  a  lucrative  means  of  livelihood.  It  was  a 
very  satisfying  intellectual  interest,  but  a  good  trade 
was  much  more  apt  to  prove  their  constant  and  sub- 
stantial standby,  unless,  of  course,  the  boys  should  ac- 
tually prove  to  be  the  geniuses  foretold.  He  seems  to 
have  realized  to  the  full,  Coleridge's  idea  that,  like  the 


262  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

literary  man,  the  mathematician  should  have  some  other 
occupation,  though  he  might  not  go  to  the  extent  of  fol- 
lowing Oliver  Wendell  Holmes'  well-known  addition  to 
Coleridge's  formula,  that  he  should,  as  far  as  possible, 
confine  himself  to  the  other  occupation.  The  boys  were 
given  the  opportunity  to  attend  the  gymnasium  of 
Erlangen,  and  seem  to  have  had  excellent  success  in 
their  general  studies  besides  mathematics.^ 

In  1805,  when  George,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was 
sixteen  years  of  age,  he  was  graduated  from  the  gym- 
nasium and  was  ready  for  the  university.  On  May  3d, 
1805,  he  took  his  matriculation  examination  before  the 
faculty  of  Erlangen,  electing  the  course  of  mathematics, 
physics  and  philosophy.  Later  in  life  he  told  his  friends 
that  it  was  his  deep  love  for  the  mathematics  of  these 
studies,  and  his  persuasion  that  in  them  the  student  was 
brought  in  contact  with  the  most  important  factors  for 
absolute  intellectual  cultivation,  that  tempted  him  to 
take  them  up.    To  this  he  did  not  hesitate  to  add  that 

1  Ohm's  brother,  Martin  Ohm,  deserves  a  passing  word,  because  his  life  is  char- 
acteristically diif  erent  in  certain  ways  and  because,  above  all,  it  represents  academic 
success,  while  Ohm's  was  almost  an  academic  failure.  He  finally  received  the  pro- 
fessorship in  mathematics  at  Berlin,  and  came  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest 
professors  of  the  subject  in  Europe.  Their  careers  form  typical  examples  of  the  fact, 
often  notable  in  history,  that  talent  finds  a  ready  welcome  in  the  academic  world, 
while  genius  is  often  neglected,  and  indeed  may  be,  and  often  is,  the  target  for  bitter 
opposition.  The  younger  Ohm's  writings  are  mainly  with  regard  to  mathematics,  but 
nearly  always  from  some  general  rather  than  special  standpoint,  and  very  often  with 
regard  to  the  educational  side  of  the  subject.  His  first  book  was  on  Analytic  and 
Higher  Geometry  in  their  Elements.  He  then  wrote  class  text-books  of  mathematics 
and  mechanics.  One  of  his  works.  The  Spirit  of  Mathematical  Analysis  and  its  Re- 
lation to  a  Logical  System,  because  of  its  value  as  an  educational  document  attracted 
widespread  attention.  This  book,  translated  by  Ellis  into  English,  was  published  in 
London  in  1845.  One  of  Martin  Ohm's  earlier  books  should  be  of  special  interest  to 
educators  because  of  its  subject.  Its  rather  lengthy  title  is,  "An  Attempt  to  For- 
mulate a  Short,  Fundamental,  Clear  Method  to  Enable  Those  without  a  Taste  for 
Mathematics  to  Learn  the  Mathematics  Necessary  for  the  Higher  and  Technical 
Schools." 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  263 

^:here  seemed  to  him  to  be  some  call  of  a  higher  voice, 
as  if  he  had  a  vocation  to  dedicate  himself  to  the  culti- 
vation and  extension  of  these  important  subjects. 

He  had  been  but  some  two  years  at  the  university, 
when  for  a  time  his  studies  had  to  be  interrupted,  partly 
for  lack  of  means  to  pursue  them,  but  partly  because 
to  his  father,  at  least,  the  university  course  was  not 
the  source  of  such  satisfaction  as  he  had  anticipated 
from  his  son's  ability  in  mathematics.  While  Ohm  took 
his  studies  seriously,  he  was  not  by  any  means  a  mere 
"grind,"  and,  indeed,  the  reputation  which  he  acquired 
at  the  university  for  many  of  the  qualities  which  make 
for  a  student's  popularity  among  his  fellows,  was  not 
such  as  would  be  likely  to  appeal  to  a  very  serious- 
minded  father.  Ohm  had  acquired  the  fame  of  being 
one  of  the  best  dancers  in  the  university;  he  was  a  bril- 
liant billiard  player  and  an  unrivalled  skater ;  all  of 
v\rhich  indicates  that  as  a  young  man  he  had  the  physi- 
cal development  and  acuteness  of  sense  so  necessary  to 
enable  him  to  gain  prestige  in  all  these  sports. 

His  father,  in  spite  of  his  desire  for  his  son's  univer- 
sity career,  was  quite  willing,  then,  at  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember, 1808,  to  have  him  take  up  a  position  as  teacher 
of  mathematics  in  the  school  kept  by  Pastor  Zehnder, 
in  the  Canton  Berne,  in  Switzerland.  His  very  youth- 
ful appearance  (he  was  only  18  years  of  age  at  the  time, 
quite  boyish  looking  and  not  even  large  for  his  years) 
caused  the  head  of  this  institution  no  little  surprise  when 
he  came  with  letters  of  introduction  showing  that  he 
was  to  be  the  new  teacher  in  mathematics.  He  could 
scarcely  believe  his  eyes  for  a  time.  Within  a  few 
months,  however,  he  was  convinced  of  the  ability  and 
the  capacity  for  work  of  his  new  addition  to  the  faculty, 


264  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

who  seems  to  have  given,  from  the  very  beginning, 
excellent  satisfaction  in  his  rather  important  position. 

Ohm  remained  there  some  three  years  and  a  half  and 
then  moved  to  Neunberg,  where,  independent  of  any 
educational  institution,  he  set  himself  up  as  a  private 
tutor  in  mathematics.  His  reason  for  so  doing,  as  he 
himself  tells,  was  that  he  wished  to  devote  himself  to 
the  study  of  pure  mathematics  more  than  was  possible 
in  a  regular  teaching  position.  For  this  same  reason 
also  he  refused  a  number  of  offers  of  positions  as  teacher 
of  mathematics,  which  would  ordinarily  be  considered 
quite  flattering  to  a  young  man  of  only  21.  Another 
reason  for  refusing  these  offers  was  that  he  wished  to 
perfect  himself  in  French,  and  he  had  an  excellent 
opportunity  afforded  him  for  conversation  in  this  lan- 
guage in  the  conditions  in  which  he  was  placed  in 
Neunberg.  This  last  may  seem  an  unusual  reason,  but 
it  is  characteristic  of  Ohm's  determination  always  to 
add  to  his  power  of  understanding  and  expression. 

Most  young  men  in  Ohm's  circumstances  are  so  occu- 
pied with  the  thought  of  immediate  success  in  life,  that 
every  possible  abbreviation  of  their  studies  which  will 
bring  them  nearer  the  opportunity  to  make  their  own 
living  is  likely  to  be  heartily  welcomed.  Ohm,  however, 
realized  that  his  own  intellectual  development  was  more 
important,  especially  at  this  time,  even  than  getting  on 
in  the  world  ;  and  for  this  reason  his  life  has  an  added 
interest,  not  only  for  students  themselves,  but  especi- 
ally for  those  who  have  the  best  interests  of  students 
at  heart  and  wish  to  be  able  to  cite  examples  of  how  a 
little  delay  in  getting  at  one's  actual  life-work,  or,  still 
more,  at  a  remunerative  occupation,  may  serve  the  very 
useful  purpose  of  preparing  a  man  so  much  the  better 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  265 

to  bring  out  his  best  intellectual  possibilities  when  he 
does  settle  down  to  his  work. 

At  Easter,  1811,  Ohm  returned  to  Erlangen,  after 
having  spent  nearly  two  years  perfecting  himself  in 
mathematics.  He  then  finished  his  studies  at  the  uni- 
versity, which  seems  not  to  have  had  the  rule  of  re- 
quiring attendance  for  a  definite  period  before  coming 
up  for  its  degree,  but  permitted  him  to  take  the  exam- 
inations for  the  doctorate  of  philosophy  on  the  strength 
of  the  work  he  had  done,  and  gave  him  his  degree  on 
the  25th  of  October  of  the  same  year.  With  the  draw- 
ing tighter  of  the  bands  of  red  tape  in  educational  insti- 
tutions in  more  recent  years.  Ohm  would  have  found  it 
difficult  to  get  his  degree  thus  readily,  though  it  was  the 
university  rather  than  the  graduate  who  was  eventually 
to  be  honored  by  it.  After  this,  he  became  privat- 
docent  in  mathematics  at  the  university,  and  taught  for 
three  semesters.  He  met  with  marked  success  and 
became  very  popular  with  the  students.  After  a  year 
and  a  half,  however,  he  gave  up  his  university  position 
to  accept  the  professorship  of  mathematics  at  the  Real- 
schule  of  Bamberg. 

While  Ohm  was  here,  the  spirit  of  young  Germany 
awoke  at  the  news  of  Napoleon's  unfortunate  Moscow 
campaign,  in  which  his  good  fortune  seemed  to  have 
definitely  abandoned  the  great  Emperor  of  the  French. 
Most  of  the  students  of  the  universities  of  Germany 
were  deeply  aroused  by  it,  and  those  who  know  Kor- 
ner's  and  Uhland's  songs  will  have  some  idea  of  the 
depth  of  patriotic  feeling  that  was  stirred  in  thousands 
of  young  German  hearts,  who  thought  that  now  the 
opportunity  for  the  fatherland  to  throw  off  the  hated 
foreign  yoke  forever,  had  come  at  last.    Ohm  debated 


266  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

with  himself  whether  he  should  volunteer  with  the 
crowds  of  young  men  who  were  so  bravely  giving  up 
everything,  that  the  fatherland  might  be  free.  Two 
things  deterred  him.  If  he  went  as.  a  soldier,  the  ma- 
terial assistance  he  was  able  to  give  his  father,  and 
which,  as  the  old  man  was  now  advancing  in  years  and 
had  spent  most  of  his  little  savings  upon  his  sons,  was 
needed,  would  have  to  be  given  up.  The  other  motive 
that  kept  him  at  home  was,  according  to  his  German 
biographer  in  the  Allegmeine  Deutsche  Biographie, 
which  we  have  been  following  for  most  of  these  details, 
because  he  felt  that  what  he  might  be  able  to  accom- 
plish in  other  fields  besides  those  of  battle  would  even- 
tually prove  more  beneficial  for  his  fatherland,  and 
indeed  for  the  whole  of  humanity,  than  anything  he 
could  do  as  a  soldier,  even  with  the  patriotic  motive  to 
help  his  country  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  foreign 
usurper,  which  had  proven  so  hard  to  bear.  As  we 
have  already  seen,  it  was  a  characteristic  trait  of  Ohm 
all  through  life,  that  he  cherished  the  idea,  which 
acquired  almost  the  force  of  a  premonition,  that  he  was 
destined  for  great  things. 

Ohm  continued  his  work  as  a  teacher,  then,  instead  of 
volunteering  for  the  army  ;  but,  as  might  be  expected, 
found  the  monotonous  work  of  drilling  young  students 
in  mathematics  extremely  unsatisfactory  after  a  time. 
At  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half  of  service  at  Bamberg, 
he  asked  for  a  change  in  the  conditions  of  his  teaching 
position.  Instead  of  this,  he  received  a  transfer  to  the 
Bamberg  pro-gymnasium,  where  he  was  to  teach  Latin 
until  a  regular  teacher  was  appointed.  In  spite  of  his 
representations  that  the  teaching  position  offered  him 
was  utterly  at  variance  with  his  talents  and  his  inclina- 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  267 

tions,  he  was  compelled  to  accept  this  occupation  for  a 
time,  though  after  some  delay  there  came  the  assurance 
that,  just  as  soon  as  possible,  he  would  be  assigned  to  a 
position  as  teacher  of  mathematics. 

In  spite  of  his  unfortunate  circumstances,  which 
would  ordinarily  be  thought  quite  enough  to  keep  him 
from  serious  work  until  he  was  settled  in  a  position 
more  suited  to  his  tastes,  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
writing  of  his  first  book  during  this  time,  and  it  was 
published  by  Enke,  in  Erlangen,  in  the  spring  of  1817. 
Its  title  was,  ' '  Outlines  of  the  Study  of  Geometry  as  a 
Means  of  Intellectual  Culture. "  It  comprised  nearly  two 
hundred  pages,  and  gives  the  best  possible  insight  into 
the  ability  and  intelligence  of  the  author,  then  a  young 
man  of  only  twenty-eight.  As  a  sort  of  appendix,  he 
gives  a  short  sketch  of  his  father,  evidently  introduced, 
not  quite  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  filially  confessing 
his  obligations  to  the  old  locksmith  mathematician,  nor 
with  the  idea  of  repaying  some  of  his  immeasurable 
debt  for  all  the  opportunities  which  the  sacrifices  of 
paternal  affection  had  brought  into  the  life  of  his  sons,  as 
to  emphasize  the  excellent  educational  influence  which 
his  father's  mathematical  training  had  had  upon  his 
boys,  and  thus  prove  his  thesis  as  to  the  value  of  math- 
ematical studies  in  education.  Few  filial  tributes  were 
ever  more  deserved  or  given  more  convincingly  or  with 
less  suggestion  of  the  conventional  attitude  of  son  to 
father. 

Now  that  mathematics  has  come  to  occupy  probably 
even  a  less  prominent  place  in  education  than  it  did  in 
Ohm's  time,  though  the  burden  of  his  complaint  with 
regard  to  educational  methods  was  that  geometry  was 
:not  used  as  a  daily  developmental  subject  as  much  as  it 


268  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

should  be,  it  may  be  interesting  to  recall  some  of  the 
reasons  which  he  advanced  for  urging  its  greater  em- 
ployment as  an  instrument  for  mental  training.  He 
thought  that  rational  geometry  should  occupy  a  place 
of  honor  among  our  means  of  education.  Its  quality  as 
a  mode  of  pure  reasoning,  though  so  closely  related  to 
the  senses,  made  easy  the  transition  from  sensation  to 
thought,  which  is  such  an  important  element  in  educa- 
tion ;  while  its  eminently  simple  character,  though  com- 
bined with  definite  demands  upon  the  constructive 
faculties,  made  it  appropriate  in  a  high  degree  for  the 
education  of  the  young  out  of  the  field  of  merely  imita* 
tive  use  of  the  intellect,  into  that  of  independent  think- 
ing and  following  out  of  ideas.  "Geometry,"  says 
Ohm,  "when  properly  taught,  not  with  the  fruitless 
drilling  usually  employed  in  teaching  it,  but  in  such 
ways  as  to  secure  deep  personal  attention,  must  take 
rank  above  all  other  branches  of  education,  in  enabling 
the  student  to  break  down  the  barrier  which  separates 
mere  understanding  from  personal  investigation.  It 
forces  a  man  whose  thoughts  were,  up  to  this  time, 
only  the  repetition  of  others'  thoughts,  to  think  for  him- 
self and  to  light  for  himself  in  his  own  mind  the  torches 
which  enable  him  to  see  things  clearly  for  himself,  and 
not  merely  in  the  dimness  of  the  half  light  that  is  thrown 
on  them  by  the  explanations  of  others." 

Geometrical  methods  always  had  a  special  fascination 
for  Ohm,  and  practically  all  of  his  books  and  writings 
bear  the  impress  of  that  close  dependence  of  all  parts 
on  one  another,  that  absolutely  logical  connection  so 
characteristic  of  geometric  accuracy  of  thought.  His 
was  the  sort  of  mind  likely  to  be  benefited  by  mathe- 
matical training.     Such  minds  are,  however,  compara- 


GEORGE  SIMON    OHM  269 

tively  few,  for  most  men  are  not  rational  in  any  sense 
of  the  word,  that  would  make  them  dependent  on 
logical  reasoning.  Perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  they  are 
not,  for  many  of  those  lacking  in  logic  or  mathematical 
accuracy  of  thought  and  absoluteness  of  conclusion, 
still  continue  to  accomplish  much  in  the  world  of  thought 
and  do  much  valuable  planning  for  the  complexities  of 
human  affairs,  where  strict  logic  will  not  always  solve 
the  intricate  yet  incomplete  problems  that  present 
themselves  in  human  relations,  where,  indeed,  individ- 
ual unknown  factors  often  make  any  but  an  approximate 
solution  impossible. 

The  opinions  of  the  critics  as  to  Ohm's  ' '  Outlines  of 
Geometry  "  were,  as  might  be  easily  anticipated,  not  all 
flattering,  since  only  a  few  of  the  critics  were  able  to 
place  themselves  on  the  ideal  standpoint  of  mathemati- 
cal subjectivity  from  which  he  had  written  his  book. 
King  Frederick  William  III.,  of  Prussia,  is  said  to  have 
read  it  with  much  interest,  however,  and  the  royal 
pleasure  doubtless  drew  attention  to  Ohm's  work,  and 
may  have  contributed  to  the  fact  that,  shortly  after  its 
publication,  in  September,  1817,  Ohm  was  invited  by 
the  Royal  Consistory  of  Cologne  to  take  the  position  of 
head  professor  of  mathematics  and  physics  in  the 
gymnasium  of  that  city.  This  post  was  not  only  honor- 
able, it  was  also  highly  remunerative,  at  least  from  the 
standpoint  of  teachers'  wages  as  they  were  at  that  time, 
and  Ohm  eagerly  accepted  the  position. 

Lamont,  who  was  the  director  of  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory at  Munich,  has  written  a  memorial  of  Ohm  which 
contains  much  valuable  information.  The  body  of  it  is 
an  address  delivered  at  a  meeting  of  the  Faculty  of  the 
University  of  Munich  in  honor  of  Thaddeus  Siber  and 


270  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

George  Simon  Ohm,  but  its  value  has  been  much  en- 
hanced by  notes  added  before  publication.  Siber  was  a 
Benedictine  who  was  professor  in  the  philosophical 
department  at  Munich,  and  died  the  same  year  as  Ohm. 
Lamont  says  that  he  received  his  information  as  to 
intimate  details  of  Ohm's  life  from  his  brother,  Prof. 
Martin  Ohm,  of  Berlin.  His  sketch  is,  therefore,  abso- 
lutely authoritative.  Lamont  says  with  regard  to  this 
period  of  teaching  at  Cologne:  "  Ohm's  first  position 
of  importance,  in  any  way  worthy  of  his  talents,  was 
the  professorship  of  mathematics  at  the  large  Jesuit 
gymnasium  in  Cologne,  in  1817,  where  the  special  gift 
that  he  possessed,  of  making  the  study  of  mathematics 
not  only  comprehensible  but  attractive  to  boys,  brought 
him  success  and  recognition." 

For  nearly  ten  years  Ohm  had  the  opportunity  to  put 
into  practice  in  this  Jesuit  gymnasium  of  the  Rhineland, 
the  principles  which  he  had  so  much  at  heart,  for  he  was. 
apparently  given  the  full  freedom  of  his  department  of 
teaching.  He  succeeded  so  well  that  he  received  wide 
and  hearty  recognition  for  his  work.  The  mathemati- 
cal studies  of  the  Cologne  gymnasium  stood  higher  than 
had  ever  been  the  case  before,  and  this  was  all  Ohm's 
work.  In  the  years  before  his  teaching  in  the  Rhenish 
city,  those  who  were  distinguished  in  mathematics  at 
the  University  of  Bonn  had  not  come,  as  a  rule,  from 
Cologne,  but  from  other  places  ;  but  now  nearly  all  the 
mathematical  prize-takers  of  Bonn  came  from  among 
Ohm's  students,  and  the  best  of  the  candidates  for 
teaching  positions  in  physics  and  mathematics  had  also, 
as  a  rule,  had  the  advantages  of  his  training. 

Among  the  best  of  his  scholars  at  this  time  was  the 
afterwards   well-known   mathematician,   Lejeune-Dir- 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  271 

ichlet,  who  taught  in  Berlin  with  Jacobi  and  Steiner  and 
succeeded  Gauss  in  Gottingen.  Another  of  his  most 
distinguished  pupils  was  the  astronomer  Heis,  who  oc- 
cupied a  modest  position  at  the  Munster  Academy,  but 
whose  merits  were  above  the  post  which  he  occupied, 
and  who  was  distinguished  for  the  excellency  of  his. 
original  work  and  his  ability  as  a  mathematician.  One 
very  interesting  fact  with  regard  to  Ohm's  teaching, 
was  that  he  was  successful  in  catching  and  holding  the 
interest  not  only  of  those  of  his  students  who  were 
later  to  specialize  in  mathematics,  but  also  of  those  who 
took  up  mathematics  only  as  a  subject  for  mental  de- 
velopment, that  was  to  be  applied  to  other  purposes 
later  in  life,  and  who  found  Ohm's  teaching  of  the 
greatest  possible  service.  Among  these,  the  well-known 
German  literary  man,  Jacob  Venedey,  of  Cologne,  has 
expressed  his  affection  and  gratitude  for  his  old  teacher 
in  a  very  striking  way  in  his  sketch  of  the  cathedral  at 
Cologne,  written  in  the  banishment  that  came  to  so 
many  vigorous  German  thinkers  after  the  failure  of  the 
revolution  of  '48.  In  sending  a  copy  of  this  to  Ohm, 
Venedey  says :  "Honored  Sir:— It  will  perhaps  be  a 
source  of  wonder  to  you  that  a  student  who  apparently 
learned  so  little  from  you  and  your  colleagues  that  he 
must  now  earn  his  bread  by  writing,  should  continue 
to  cherish  for  you  the  liveliest  gratitude.  It  is  not  the 
fault  of  mathematics  that  only  the  dimmest  recollection 
of  them  remains  with  me.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
personality  of  my  professor,  however,  nor  his  ways  and 
methods  of  teaching.  I  frequently  recount  your  way 
with  us  boys,  and  I  have  the  liveliest  remembrance  of 
your  influence  as  a  teacher.  There  are  seldom  weeks, 
there  never  is  a  month,  when  I  fail  to  recall  you.    Thi& 


272  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

is  no  mere  compliment  that  I  am  paying  to  you,  since  I 
know  you  too  well  to  think  that  flattery  would  mean 
anything  to  you,  as  it  would  be  unworthy  of  you,  and 
I  for  my  part  am  not  one  of  those  who  like  to  bandy 
compliments.  I  have  often  wished  to  meet  you  again, 
and  a  hundred  times  I  thought  that  I  saw  you  because 
some  one  at  a  distance  had  something  that  recalled  you. 
I  may  say  to  you  that  you  accomplished  something  for 
me  in  those  days  of  teaching  that  I  would  not  have  been 
able  to  accomplish  for  myself.  I  can  only  think  of  you, 
then,  with  the  highest  feelings  of  reverence  approaching 
what  might  well  be  called  love.  It  will  be  a  happy  day, 
indeed,  for  me  if  I  am  ever  in  a  position  to  make  an 
hour  of  existence  happier  for  you  in  any  way." 

While  Ohm  so  zealously  continued  his  instruction  in 
both  the  upper  classes  of  the  gymnasium,  he  never  lost 
from  sight  that  higher  aim  of  original  research  and 
investigation  to  which  his  genius  disposed  him. 

His  choice  of  a  subject  for  original  investigation  wav- 
ered for  a  long  time  between  mathematics  and  physics, 
but,  as  he  himself  declared,  his  experience  having 
shown  him  that  authority  was  prone  to  play  a  large  role 
in  mathematics,  while  the  field  was  more  open  for 
personal  research  and  observation  in  physics,  he  resolved 
to  take  up  that  department  for  his  special  studies,  con- 
soled by  the  idea  that  physics  cannot  be  properly  pur- 
sued without  mathematics.  Looking  around  to  select  a 
subject  that  would  serve  as  a  striking  preface  to  his 
work  in  this  department,  though  resolved  at  the  same 
time  to  avoid  one  where  he  would  be  without  rivalry,  he 
found  it  all  ready  to  his  hand  in  what  one  of  his  con- 
temporaries called  the  enigmatic  phenomena  of  the 
galvanic  current.    This  was  to  prove  a  fortunate  selec- 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  273 

tion,  indeed,  both  for  himself  and  the  opportunity- 
afforded  his  genius  as  well  as  for  the  science  of  elec- 
tricity itself. 

He  then  began  a  series  of  investigations,  always  ex- 
perimental in  character,  and  with  the  mathematical  ex- 
planations of  the  phenomena  observed  carefully  worked 
out.  Accounts  of  these  studies  appeared  from  time  to 
time  in  the  year-book  for  Chemistry  and  Physics,  issued 
by  Schweigger.  After  some  ten  years,  these  were  col- 
lected together,  or  at  least  the  principal  portions  of 
them,  and  published  in  the  second  half  of  the  year-book 
for  the  year  1826.  The  apparatus  for  his  experiments 
was  fortunately  at  command  in  the  gymnasium  at 
Cologne,  but  without  his  mechanical  skill,  obtained  from 
his  experience  as  a  locksmith  when  a  boy,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  so  to  vary  his  experiments  and  modify 
his  instruments  as  to  bring  out  many  of  the  phenomena 
that  he  succeeded  in  demonstrating.  Nearly  all  of  the 
great  discoverers  in  science  have  been  handy  men  pos- 
sessed of  mechanical  skill,  and  this  is  as  true  for  medi- 
cine, as  I  have  shown  in  "Makers  of  Modern  Medi- 
cine,"^ though  it  might  perhaps  not  be  expected,  as  it  is 
here  in  electricity,  where  it  seems  very  natural. 

Ohm  felt,  in  1826,  that  he  had  succeeded  in  exhaust- 
ing nearly  all  that  he  could  learn  for  himself,  and  as  he 
wished  to  have  opportunities  for  further  study,  and 
especially  for  further  reading,  he  asked  for  an  academic 
furlough  that  would  carry  him  over  the  next  year.  The 
work  that  he  had  already  accomplished  was  beginning 
to  be  appreciated,  and  after  discussion  of  the  papers 
that  he  had  published  up  to  that  time,  the  requested 
furlough  was  promptly  granted ;  and  in  a  letter  in  which 

1  Fordham  University  Press,  1907. 


274  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  school  authorities  praised  his  school  work  as  well 
as  his  original  investigations,  they  allowed  him  to  take 
the  sabbatic  year  for  the  furtherance  of  science  on  one- 
half  the  usual  salary,  though  with  the  condition  also 
that  more  would  be  allowed  to  him  in  case  this  seemed 
necessary  and  the  conditions  justified  it. 

This  furlough  was  perhaps  the  most  important  event 
in  Ohm's  life.  He  employed  it  in  bringing  to  a  focus 
the  ideas  with  regard  to  electricity  which  had  been 
gradually  worked  out  in  his  mind  during  the  past  ten 
years.  In  May,  1827,  within  six  months  after  the  be- 
ginning of  his  exclusive  devotion  to  the  subject.  Ohm's 
article  on  the  mathematics  of  the  galvanic  current 
appeared.  It  proved  a  scientific  achievement  of  the 
first  rank,  that  was  to  be  epoch-making  in  the  domain 
of  electricity.  It  settled  the  conditions  under  which 
electrical  tension  exists  in  various  bodies,  and  made 
it  clear  that  there  is  a  fundamental  law  of  electrical 
conduction  which  could  be  expressed  by  an  easy,  simple 
formula. 

Ohm's  preface  to  his  little  book,  that  was  to  work 
such  a  revolution  in  electricity  and  was  to  remain  for  all 
time  one  of  the  classics  in  this  department  of  science,  is 
typical  of  the  man  in  many  ways.  Its  modesty  could  not 
very  well  be  exceeded.  Its  simplicity  constitutes  in  itself 
an  appeal  to  the  reader's  interest.  I  know  nothing  in 
the  literature  of  the  history  of  science  quite  like  it  in 
these  regards,  unless  it  be  the  preface  of  Auenbrugger's 
little  book  on  percussion,  in  which  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  modern  clinical  diagnosis.^  The  two  men  have  many 
more  qualities  in  common  than  the  authorship  of  modest 
prefaces  to  their  books.    Both  of  them  were  geniuses. 

1  Makers  of  Modem  Medicine,  Fordham  University  Press,  New  York,  1907. 


GEORGE  SIMON  OHM  275 

whose  names  the  af  tertime  will  not  willingly  let  die,  and 
both  of  them  accomplished  their  work  apart  from  the 
stream  of  university  life  in  their  time,  and  met  with  a 
like  fate  in  the  neglect,  for  some  time  at  least,  by  their 
distinguished  colleagues  of  the  important  discoveries 
that  they  had  made.  Ohm's  preface  deserves  to  be 
quoted  because  of  its  classic  quality : 

"I  herewith  present  to  the  public  a  theory  of  galvanic 
electricity  as  a  special  part  of  electrical  science  in  gen- 
eral, and  shall  successively,  as  time,  inclination  and 
means  permit,  arrange  more  such  portions  together  into 
a  whole,  if  this  first  essay  shall  in  some  degree  repay 
the  sacrifice  it  has  cost  me.  The  circumstances  in 
which  I  have  hitherto  been  placed  have  not  been  suit- 
able either  to  encourage  me  in  the  pursuit  of  novelties 
or  to  enable  me  to  become  acquainted  with  works  relat- 
ing to  the  same  department  of  literature  throughout 
its  whole  extent.  I  have,  therefore,  chosen  for  my 
first  attempt  a  department  of  science  in  which  I  have 
the  least  to  apprehend  competition. 

"May  the  well-disposed  reader  accept  whatever  I 
have  accomplished  with  the  same  love  for  science  as 
that  with  which  it  is  sent  forth  !— The  Author,  Berlin, 
May  1st,  1827." 

In  his  preface  to  the  American  edition  of  the 
"  Galvanic  Circuit  Investigated  Mathematically, "  ^  Mr. 
Thomas  D.  Lockwood,  vice-president  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  said  of  this  master- 
piece of  Ohm's:  "A  sufficient  reason  for  repubhshing 
an  English  translation  of  the  wonderful  book  of  Profes- 
sor G.  S.  Ohm  is  the  difficulty  with  which  the  only 

1  New  York,  Van  NoBtrand  Company,  1891. 


276  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

previous  translation  (that  of  Taylor's  Scientific  Memoirs) 
is  procurable. 

"Besides  this,  however,  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
book  is  so  great  that  it  should  be  read  by  all  electricians 
who  care  for  more  than  superficial  knowledge. 

"It  is  most  remarkable  to  note,  at  this  time,  how 
completely  Ohm  stated  his  famous  law  that  the  electro- 
motive force  divided  by  the  resistance  is  equal  to  the 
strength  of  the  current." 

With  regard  to  the  book  as  a  whole,  Mr.  Lockwood 
says,  after  suggesting  certain  anticipations  of  Ohm's 
ideas  which  had  been  made  in  the  preceding  century  : 
"Ohm's  work  stands  alone,  and,  reading  it  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  one  is  filled  with  wonder  at  the  prescience, 
respect  for  his  patience  and  prophetic  soul,  and  admira- 
tion of  the  immensity  and  variety  of  ground  covered  by 
his  little  book,  which  is  indeed  his  best  monument." 

Like  many  another  great  discovery  in  physical  science, 
Ohm's  work  failed  to  receive  the  immediate  appreciation 
which  it  deserved.  It  cannot  be  said,  however,  that  it 
failed  to  attract  attention.  It  would  be  easier,  indeed, 
to  forgive  the  scientists  of  the  day  if  this  were  true. 
Not  long  after  its  appearance,  abstracts  from  it  were 
made  by  Fechner  in  Leipzig,  by  Pfaff  in  Erlangen, 
and  Poggendorff  in  Berlin,  which  showed  that  these 
scientists  understood  very  clearly  the  significance  and 
comprehended  the  wide  application  of  Ohm's  law  as 
claimed  by  its  author.  From  these  men  there  was  no 
question  of  hostile  criticism.  Professor  Pohl,  of  the 
University  of  Berlin,  however,  in  the  Berlin  ' '  Year-book 
of  Scientific  Criticism,"  did  not  hesitate  to  express  his 
utter  disagreement,  and  declared  that  Ohm's  work  was 
fallacious  and  should  be  rejected.    Other  writers  of  the 


GEORGE  SIMON  OHM  277 

time  treated  Ohm's  article  more  or  less  indifferently,  as 
a  merely  conventional  contribution  to  science. 

Professor  Pohl's  opinion  was  taken  to  represent  the 
conclusions  of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of  Berlin, 
especially  noted  for  mathematical  ability.  This  was  to 
prove  a  serious  hindrance  to  Ohm  in  the  university 
career  which  he  had  planned  for  himself.  At  Berlin 
they  had  the  ear  of  the  Minister  of  Education,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  Ohm  felt  that  the  criticisms  of  his 
work  were  making  themselves  felt  in  a  direction  un- 
favorable to  him.  Not  long  after  the  appearance  of  his 
book,  there  came  a  disagreement  between  Ohm  and  the 
educational  authorities.  Ohm  felt  that  this  was  due  to 
failure  to  recognize  the  significance  of  his  work,  and 
that  under  the  circumstances  he  could  not  hope  for  the 
appreciation  that  would  provide  him  with  the  oppor- 
tunities he  deserved.  He  insisted  on  sending  in  his 
resignation  as  a  teacher.  Nothing  could  change  his 
determination  in  the  matter,  not  even  the  pleas  of  his 
former  scholars,  and  his  resignation  had  to  be  accepted. 

Ohm  had  hoped  for  a  teaching  position  in  a  univer- 
sity. The  Minister  of  Education  declared  that,  while  his 
work  as  a  teacher  had  been  accomplished  with  careful 
industry  and  diligence  and  conscientious  attention  to 
duty,  the  ministry  regretted  that,  in  spite  of  thorough 
appreciation  of  him  and  admiration  for  his  excellent 
work  as  a  scientist,  they  could  not  find  for  him  a  posi- 
tion outside  of  the  gymnasium.  How  utterly  trivial  the 
conventional  expressions  sound,  now  that  we  know  that 
they  brought  about  for  the  time  being  the  interruption 
of  one  of  the  most  brilliant  scientific  careers  in  Europe. 
Of  course,  the  geese  cannot  be  expected  to  appreciate 
the  swans,  and  it  was  not  the  minister's  fault,  but  that 


278  MAKERS   OF  ELECTRICITY 

of  some  of  Ohm's  own  colleagties.  The  next  six  years 
of  his  life,  the  precious  years  between  38  and  44,  Ohm 
had  to  give  up  the  idea  of  teaching  in  a  university,  and 
devote  himself  to  some  private  tutoring  in  Berlin,  with 
a  stipend  of  about  three  hundred  dollars  a  year,  miser- 
able enough,  yet  sufficient,  as  would  appear,  for  Ohm's 
simple  mode  of  life.  This  he  owed  to  the  kindness  of 
Gen.  Radowitz,  who  employed  him  to  teach  mathematics 
in  a  military  school  in  Berlin. 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  when  he  was  nearly  45  years 
of  age,  his  unfortunate  situation  attracted  the  attention 
of  King  Ludwig  I.,  of  Bavaria,  who  offered  him  the 
chair  of  professor  of  physics  at  the  Polytechnic  School 
in  Nuremberg,  which  had  recently  by  royal  rescript 
been  raised  to  the  status  of  a  Royal  Institute,  with  the 
same  rank  in  educational  circles  as  a  lyceum  for  the 
study  of  humanities.  Here  Ohm's  duties  were  shortly 
to  be  multiplied.  He  became  the  inspector  of  scientific 
instruction,  after  having  occupied  for  some  time  the 
professorship  of  mathematics,  and  later  became  the 
rector  of  the  Polytechnic  School,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  some  ten  years,  fulfilling  its  duties  with  the 
greatest  conscientiousness  and  fidelity. 

Ohm  continued  his  work  at  Nuremberg  for  more  than 
fifteen  years.  During  this  time,  he  succeeded  in  making 
his  mark  in  every  one  of  the  departments  of  physics. 
He  is  usually  considered  as  owing  his  reputation  as  an 
experimental  and  mathematical  scientist  to  his  re- 
searches in  electricity.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  every 
branch  of  physics  was  illuminated  by  his  work,  and 
perhaps  nothing  shows  the  original  genius  of  the  man 
better  than  the  fact  that  everything  which  he  took  up 
revealed  new  scientific  aspects  in  his  hands.    The  only 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  279 

wonder  is  that  he  should  have  remained  so  long  in 
a  subordinate  position  in  the  educational  world  at  Nu- 
remberg, and  received  his  appointment  as  university 
professor  of  physics  at  Munich  only  in  1849. 

In  the  midst  of  the  administrative  educational  work 
that  came  to  him  at  Nuremberg,  Ohm  did  not  neglect 
original  investigation,  but  somehow  succeeded  in  find- 
ing time  for  experiment  and  study.  Having  made  a 
cardinal  discovery  in  electricity,  of  the  value  of  which 
surely  no  one  was  more  aware  than  himself,  Ohm 
might  have  been  expected,  as  soon  as  his  new  post 
gave  him  the  opportunity,  to  devote  himself  quite  ex- 
clusively to  this  department  of  science.  Instead,  he 
turned  for  a  time  to  the  related  subjects  of  sound,  heat 
and  light,  devoting  himself  especially  to  their  mathe- 
matics. He  did  this,  as  he  said  himself,  to  complete  for 
his  own  satisfaction  his  knowledge  of  the  scientific 
foundations  of  the  imponderables,  as  heat,  light  and 
electricity  were  then  called,  but  also  because  he  wished, 
for  the  sake  of  his  students,  to  get  closely  in  touch 
with  what  had  been  accomplished  by  recent  investi- 
gators in  physics. 

It  is  almost  a  universal  rule  in  science,  that  no  matter 
how  distinguished  an  investigator  may  be,  he  makes 
but  one  cardinal  discovery.  Ohm,  however,  was  des- 
tined, after  having  brilliantly  illuminated  electricity  by 
the  discovery  of  a  great  law,  to  throw  nearly  as  bright 
a  light  on  the  domain  of  acoustics ;  and  there  is  a 
law  in  this  department  of  physics  which  is  deservedly 
called  by  his  name,  though  it  is  often  associated  with 
that  of  Helmholtz.  Helmholtz  himself  was  always 
most  emphatic  in  his  insistence  on  Ohm's  priority  in 


280  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  matter,  and  constantly  speaks  of  the  law  in  ques- 
tion by  Ohm's  name. 

Perhaps  no  better  evidence  of  the  breadth  of  Ohm's 
interest  in  science,  his  supreme  faculty  for  experimen- 
tation, or  the  originality  of  his  investigating  genius, 
can  be  found  than  the  fact  that  he  thus  discovered, 
by  experimental  and  mathematical  methods,  the  solu- 
tion to  important  problems  in  two  such  distinct  depart- 
ments of  physical  science  as  electricity  and  acoustics. 
Before  his  time,  the  question  of  electrical  resistance 
was  absolutely  insoluble.  The  problem  in  acoustics 
was  not  less  obscure,  as  may  be  judged  from  the  fact 
that,  though  some  of  the  best  physicists  and  mathema- 
ticians of  Europe  during  the  eighteenth  century— and 
there  were  giants  in  those  days,  among  others,  Brook 
Taylor  in  England,  D'Alembert  in  France,  Johann 
Bernoulli  and  Euler  in  Germany,  and  finally,  Daniel 
Bernoulli— had  devoted  themselves  to  its  solution,  it 
remained  nevertheless  unsolved.  Here,  as  in  electric- 
ity, the  simplicity  of  the  solution  which  Ohm  found 
shows  how  direct  were  his  methods  of  thinking  and 
how  thorough  his  modes  of  investigation.  Perhaps 
the  most  striking  feature  of  Ohm's  work  in  acoustics, 
and,  above  all,  his  solution  of  an  important  problem  in 
music,  is  the  fact  that  he  himself,  unlike  most  of  his 
German  compatriots,  had  no  ear  for  music  and  no  liking 
for  it. 

In  his  address  delivered  at  the  public  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Bavarian  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Munich,  in 
March,  1889,  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth 
of  Ohm,  Eugene  Lommel,  in  discussing  the  scientific 
work  of  Ohm,  said :  "Inasmuch  as  his  law  in  acoustics 
furnished  the  clearest  insight  into  the  hitherto  incom- 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  ■  281 

prehensible  nature  of  musical  tones,  it  dominates  the 
acoustics  of  to-day  no  less  completely  than  Ohm's  law 
of  the  electric  current  dominates  the  science  of  elec- 
tricity."^ This  law  concerns  the  resolution  of  tones 
into  their  constituents.  The  ideas  laid  down  by  Ohm 
were  almost  absolutely  novel.  They  were  so  new  that 
none  of  the  workers  in  acoustics  could  think  that  Ohm 
had  made  a  great  discovery.  His  law  states  that  the 
human  ear  perceives  only  pendulum-like  vibration  as  a 
simple  tone.  Every  other  periodic  motion  it  resolves 
into  a  collection  of  pendulum-like  vibrations,  which  it 
then  hears  in  the  sound  as  a  series  of  single  tones, 
fundamentals  and  overtones.  Ohm  arrived  at  this  law 
from  mathematical  considerations,  making  use  of  Four- 
ier's series ;  for  its  experimental  verification  he  was 
compelled  to  use  the  well-cultivated  ear  of  a  friend, 
inasmuch  as  he  was  himself,  as  we  have  said,  quite 
devoid  of  musical  appreciation. 

Ohm's  results  were  too  distant  from  the  accustomed 
ideas  of  investigators  of  sound  at  that  time  to  be  ac- 
cepted by  them.  Seebeck,  who  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  scientists  of  the  time  in  acoustics,  did  not 
hesitate  to  criticise  severely,  just  as  Pohl  had  made 
little  of  Ohm' s  law  of  the  electric  current.  While, 
however,  foreigners  were  to  teach  German  scientists  the 
value  of  the  advance  that  their  great  colleague  in  elec- 
tricity had  made,  the  privilege  of  pointing  out  the  sig- 
nificance of  his  work  in  sound  was  to  be  a  compatriot's 
good  fortune.  It  was  nearly  a  score  of  years,  however, 
before  this  vindication  was  to  take  place.  Then  Helm- 
holtz,  a  decade  after  Ohm's  death,  furnished  the  experi- 

1  Published  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute  for  the  year 

1891,  Washington,  1893. 


282  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

mental  means  which  enabled  even  the  unskilled  ear  to 
resolve  a  sound  into  its  simple  partial  tones,  and  revolu- 
tionized the  theory  of  music  by  his  classic  work,  ''The 
Science  of  the  Perception  of  Sound,"  which  is  based  en- 
tirely on  Ohm's  law  of  acoustics. 

Ohm,  in  the  appendix  to  his  work,  "The Galvanic  Cir- 
cuit treated  mathematically, "  dared  to  suggest  certain 
speculations  with  regard  to  the  ultimate  structure  of 
matter.  He  said:  "There  are  properties  of  space-filling 
matter  which  we  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  as  belong- 
ing to  it.  There  are  other  properties  which  heretofore 
we  have  been  inclined  to  look  upon  as  accidents  or 
guests  of  matter,  which  abide  with  it  from  time  to 
time.  For  these  properties  man  has  thought  out  causes, 
if  not  foreign,  at  least  extrinsic,  and  they  pass  as  imma- 
terial independent  phases  of  nature  under  the  names 
light,  heat,  electricity,  etc.  It  must  be  possible  so  to 
conceive  the  structure  of  physical  bodies  that,  along 
with  the  properties  of  the  first  class,  at  the  same  time 
and  necessarily  those  of  the  second  shall  be  given." 

It  is  all  the  more  interesting  to  come  upon  Ohm's 
speculations  on  this  subject  of  the  ultimate  constitution 
of  matter,  because  within  a  few  years  of  his  time,  Pas- 
teur, then  only  a  comparatively  young  man,  had  also 
been  taken  with  the  idea  of  getting  at  the  constitution 
of  matter  by  his  observations  upon  dissymmetry,  which 
he  abandoned  after  a  time,  however,  because  he  found 
other  and  more  practical  subjects  to  devote  himself  to, 
though  he  never  gave  up  the  thought  that  he  might 
some  time  return  to  them  and  perhaps  discover  the 
underlying  principles  of  matter  from  observations  in  this 
subject.  It  was  not  until  the  last  five  years  of  his  life, 
when  Ohm  was  already  past  sixty,  that  he  was  to  enjoy 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  283 

the  satisfaction  of  an  ambition  which  he  had  cher- 
ished from  his  earhest  years  as  a  teacher,  and  which, 
in  spite  of  untoward  circumstances,  had  been  a  pre- 
cious stimulus  in  his  work.  For  some  twenty  years 
he  had  hoped  some  time  to  be  able  to  devote  himself 
to  the  investigation  of  the  physical  constitution  of 
matter.  Unfortunately,  when  the  opportunity  came,  the 
manifold  duties  of  his  teaching  position  prevented  the 
completion  of  his  great  work,  and  doubtless  robbed  his 
generation  and  ours  of  a  precious  heritage  in  the  mathe- 
matics of  the  structure  of  matter,  which  would  doubtless 
have  been  of  the  greatest  possible  value. 

It  is  of  course  Mle  to  speculate  as  to  what  he  might  have 
accomplished  if  left  to  his  original  investigation.  The 
problem  which  he  now  took  up  was  much  more  difficult 
than  any  of  his  preceding  tasks.  It  would  have  seemed, 
however,  quite  as  hopeless  to  those  who  lived  before 
Ohm's  laws,  to  look  for  a  single  complete  law  of  the  re- 
sistance of  the  electrical  current  in  the  circuit  or  of 
the  overtones  in  music,  as  it  is  to  us  to  think  of  a  simple 
mathematical  formula  for  atomic  relations.  What  Ohm 
accomplished  in  these  other  cases  by  his  wonderful 
power  of  eliminating  all  the  unnecessary  factors  in  the 
problem,  would  surely  have  helped  him  here.  The  main 
power  of  genius,  after  all,  is  its  faculty  of  eliminating 
the  superfluous,  which  always  obscures  the  real  question 
at  issue  to  such  a  degree  for  ordinary  minds,  that  they 
are  utterly  unable  to  see  even  the  possibility  of  a  simple 
solution  of  it.  Art  has  been  defined  as  the  elimination 
of  the  superfluous ;  discovery  in  science  might  well  be 
defined  in  the  same  terms.  Under  the  circumstances, 
we  cannot  help  regretting  that  Ohm  was  not  allowed 
the  time  and  the  opportunity  to  work  out  the  thoughts 


284  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

with  which  he  was  engaged.  It  would  have  been  even 
more  satisfactory  if  the  precious  years  of  his  ripe  mid- 
dle age  had  not  been  wasted  in  trivial,  conventional 
tasks,  so  that  he  might  have  been  permitted  to  devote 
his  academic  leisure,  sooner  than  was  actually  the  case, 
to  the  problem  which  had  been  so  constantly  in  mind 
since  he  made  his  great  generalization  in  the  laws  of 
electricity. 

Unfortunately,  most  of  Ohm's  time  had  now  to  be 
taken  up  with  his  teaching  duties.  Only  for  his  self- 
sacrifice  in  the  matter,  his  success  as  a  teacher  would 
doubtless  have  been  less  marked.  Science  itself  must 
have  suffered,  however,  from  this  pre-occupation  of 
mind  with  a  round  of  conventional  duties,  since  Ohm 
could  no  longer  devote  his  time  to  original  research.  In 
the  meantime,  his  great  discovery  was  coming  to  its 
own.  During  these  ten  years  since  the  publication  of 
his  book,  a  number  of  distinguished  physicists  in  every 
country— Poggendorff,  and  especially  Fechner,  in  Ger- 
many, Jacobi  and  Lenz  in  Russia,  Henry  in  America, 
Rosenkoeld  in  Sweden,  and  De  Heer  in  Holland— took 
up  the  problems  of  the  current  strength  of  electricity 
as  set  forth  in  Ohm's  law,  and  confirmed  his  conclusion 
by  their  investigations  along  similar  lines.  The  French 
physicist  and  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences, 
Pouillet,  applied  Ohm's  ideas  to  thermo-electricity  and 
pyro-electricity,  employing  his  terms  and  bringing  his 
work  to  the  notice  of  foreigners  generally,  so  that  a 
translation  of  Ohm's  work  was  made  into  English. 

Ohm's  work  at  once  attracted  the  attention  that  it 
deserved  in  England.  The  Royal  Society  conferred 
on  him  the  Copley  Medal,  which  had  been  founded 
as  a  reward  for  important  discoveries  in  the  domain. 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  285 

of  natural  knowledge.  Before  Ohm's  time  only  one 
other  German  scientist,  Carl  Friedrich  Gauss,  of  Got- 
tingen,  had  ever  been  thus  honored.  The  words  em- 
ployed by  the  Royal  Society  in  conferring  this  distinc- 
tion showed  how  thoroughly  the  representatives  of  Eng- 
lish science  appreciated  Ohm's  work.  They  said  that 
lie  had  set  forth  the  laws  of  the  electric  current  very 
clearly,  and  thus  accomplished  the  solution  of  a  problem 
which  was  as  important  in  the  realm  of  applied  science 
as  it  had  hitherto  been  in  the  schools.  Recognition 
now  became  the  rule,  and  Ohm  had  the  satisfaction  of 
having  all  his  colleagues  in  the  physical  sciences  ac- 
knowledge the  significance  of  his  work. 

Ohm's  recognition,  then,  came  from  foreigners  first, 
and  only  afterwards  from  his  fellow-countrymen.  Im- 
mediate appreciation  might  have  meant  much  for  him, 
and  even  this  tardy  recognition  gave  him  renewed 
courage  and  new  strength  to  go  on  with  his  work. 
He  gave  effective  expression  at  once  to  his  gratitude 
and  to  the  stimulus  that  had  been  afforded  him  by  the 
dedication  to  the  Royal  Society  of  London  of  the  great 
work,  " Contributions  to  molecular  Physics,"  which  he 
planned. 

The  year  after  he  received  the  Copley  Medal,  he  was 
made  a  Foreign  Associate  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
England,  and  from  this  time  on  his  discoveries  began  to 
find  their  way  into  text-books  as  fundamental  doctrines 
in  the  science  of  electricity.  German  and  foreign  sci- 
entific bodies  followed  the  English  example  so  happily 
set  for  them,  and  began  to  give  him  their  recognition 
as  a  physicist  of  the  first  rank.  Ohm's  further  obser- 
vations were,  for  a  time,  not  accepted  so  readily  as 
his  first  law.    The  reason  for  this  was  that  Ohm  was  so 


286  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

far  ahead  of  his  times  that  there  was  not  as  yet  in  exist- 
ence a  suitable  electroscope  to  test  their  truth.  Finally, 
the  invention  of  an  exact  electrometer  by  Dellman,  and 
its  application  by  Professor  Kohlrausch,  of  Marburg, 
made  the  experimental  confirmation  of  all  his  work 
quite  as  significant  as  for  his  law. 

It  is  a  striking  reflection  on  Ohm's  career,  though  not 
very  encouraging  for  the  discoverer  in  science,  to  real- 
ize that  some  important  discoveries,  which  thus  proved 
eventually  quite  as  epoch-making  as  his  law,  had  lain 
for  practically  ten  years  neglected,  and  their  mag- 
nificently endowed  author  had  been  allowed  to  eke 
out  a  rather  difficult  existence  in  teaching,  not  in  the 
important  department  of  science  in  which  he  was  so 
great  a  master,  but  in  certain  conventional  phases  of 
mathematics  which  might  very  well  have  been  taught 
by  almost  anyone  who  knew  the  elements  of  higher 
mathematics.  Ohm's  case  is  not  a  solitary  phenomenon 
in  the  history  of  science,  however,  but  rather  follows 
the  rule,  that  a  genuine  novelty  is  seldom  welcomed  by 
the  leaders  of  science  at  any  given  moment ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  rather  decried,  and  its  discoverer  always 
frigidly  put  in  his  proper  place  by  those  who  resent  his 
audacity  in  presuming  to  teach  them  something  new  in 
their  own  science. 

Having  thus  illuminated  electricity  and  acoustics. 
Ohm  turned  his  attention  to  the  department  of  optics. 
His  power  to  simplify  difficulties  and  get  at  the  heart  of 
obscure  problems  is  illustrated  by  his  contribution  to 
this  subject,  made  while  he  was  professor  of  physics 
in  the  University  of  Munich.  Optics  had  early  engaged 
his  attention,  and  in  1840  he  published  a  paper  in  Pog- 
gendorff's  Annalen,  bearing  the  title,   "A  Description 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  2ST 

of  some  simple  and  easily  managed  Arrangements  for 
making  the  Experiment  of  the  Interference  of  Light." 
With  his  usual  faculty  for  simplifying  things,  he  showed 
that  the  interference  prisms  which  were  made  so  care- 
fully by  the  French  could  be  constructed  from  common 
plate-glass.  He  was  indeed  able  to  demonstrate  that  a 
simple  strip  from  the  edge  of  a  piece  of  such  glass  could 
be  used  for  this  purpose. 

He  pursued  this  absorbing  subject  until  1852-53,  and 
then  set  himself  the  difficult  task  of  developing  a  gen- 
eral theory  of  these  phenomena  of  interference  which 
are  so  rich  in  form  and  color.  The  problem  was  indeed 
alluring,  but  some  of  the  best  minds  in  nineteenth 
century  science  in  Europe  had  been  engaged  at  it,  with- 
out bringing  much  order  out  of  the  chaos,  and  it  would 
have  looked  quite  unpromising  to  anyone  but  Ohm,  to 
whom,  the  greater  the  difficulty  of  a  subject,  the  more 
the  attraction  it  possessed.  With  his  wonderful  power 
of  synthesis  and  his  capacity  to  discover  a  clue  to  the 
way  through  a  maze  of  difficulties.  Ohm  succeeded  in 
finding  a  formula  of  great  simplicity  and  beauty  and 
which  covered  all  the  individual  colors.  It  was  only 
after  he  had  reached  his  conclusions  and  was  actually 
publishing  his  results,  that  the  German  scientist  found 
that  he  had  been  anticipated  by  Professor  Langberg,  of 
Christiania,  in  Norway,  with  regard  to  the  principal 
points  of  his  investigation,  though  not  as  to  all  its  de- 
tails. Professor  Langberg^  had  published  his  article  in 
the  Norwegian  Magazine  for  Natural  Sciences  in  1841, 

iln  the  address  on  the  scientific  work  of  George  Simon  Ohm,  published  by  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  in  1891,  this  name  is  translated  Sangberg.  In  the  article  by 
Baurenf«nd,  in  the  AUegmeine  Deutsche  Biographic,  the  name  is  spelled  Langberg. 
The  form  of  the  old  German  L  may  have  suggested  the  letter  S,  or  it  may  hare 
8lipi>ed  in  as  a  typographical  error. 


288  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

and  an  abstract  of  it  had  appeared  the  following  year 
in  the  first  complementary  volume  (Erganzungsband) 
of  Poggendorff' s  Annalen. 

Of  this  publication  by  Professor  Langberg,  Ohm  had 
known  absolutely  nothing.  He  had  even  gone  to  some 
pains  to  find  out,  before  undertaking  his  own  investi- 
gation, whether  anything  had  been  published  on  the 
matter.  At  the  sessions  of  the  German  Naturalists' 
Association,  held  in  1852,  he  had  called  the  attention  of 
many  prominent  physicists  and  mineralogists  who  were 
present  at  that  meeting  to  the  colored  concentric  ellipses 
which  occur  in  connection  with  certain  crystals  used  in 
the  investigation  of  polarization.  He  asked  whether 
these  had  ever  been  seen  before,  or  whether  anything 
had  been  written  about  them.  All  of  those  whom  he 
consulted  declared  that  they  had  not  observed  them, 
and  that,  so  far  as  they  knew,  nothing  had  been 
pubHshed  with  regard  to  them.  Accordingly,  Ohm  pro- 
ceeded with  his  work,  only  to  find,  after  its  formal 
publication,  that  he  had  been  almost  entirely  antici- 
pated and  that  the  merit  of  original  discovery  belonged 
to  his  Norwegian  colleague. 

When  his  attention  was  called  to  the  publication, 
Ohm  was  perfectly  ready  to  acknowledge  the  priority 
of  Professor  Langberg' s  claim  and  to  give  him  all 
the  credit  that  belonged  to  his  discovery.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  second  part  of  his  article,  he  said  : 

"I  know  not  whether  I  should  consider  it  lucky  or 
unlucky  that  the  extremely  meritorious  work  of  Lang- 
berg should  have  entirely  escaped  me  and  should  have 
been  lost  to  general  recollection.  Certain  it  is  that,  if 
I  had  had  any  knowledge  of  it  before,  my  present 
investigations,  which  were  occasioned  by  this  elliptical 


GEORGE  SIMON  OHM  289 

system,  would  not  have  been  made  and  I  would  have 
been  spared  a  deal  of  work.  In  that  case,  however,  a 
number  of  other  and  scarcely  less  important  scientific 
principles  would  have  remained  hidden  for  the  time 
being  at  least.  Under  the  circumstances,  the  profound 
truth  of  the  old  proverb,  *  Man  proposes,  but  God  dis- 
poses,' has  been  brought  home  to  me  again.  What 
originally  set  me  investigating  this  subject  now  proves 
to  be  without  interest  for  science,  since  the  problem  has 
been  solved  before.  On  the  other  hand,  a  number  of 
things  of  which  I  had  no  hint  at  all  at  the  beginning  of 
my  researches,  have  come  to  take  its  place  and  com- 
pensate for  it." 

Perhaps  nothing  will  show  better  than  this.  Ohm's 
disposition  toward  that  Providence  which  overrules 
everything,  and  somehow,  out  of  the  mixture  of  good 
and  evil  in  life,  accomplishes  things  that  make  for  the 
great  purpose  of  creation.  His  eminently  inquiring 
attitude  towards  science,  which  had  on  three  occasions 
led  him  to  tackle  problems  that  had  puzzled  the  greatest 
of  experimental  scientists,  has  been  shown.  He  must 
have  been,  above  all  things,  a  man  of  a  scientific  turn 
of  mind,  in  the  sense  that  he  was  not  ready  to  accept 
what  had  previously  been  accepted  even  by  distin- 
guished authorities  in  science,  but  was  ready  to  look  for 
new  clews  that  would  lead  him  to  simpler  explanations 
than  any  that  had  been  offered  before.  In  spite  of  this 
inquiring  disposition,  so  eminently  appropriate  to  the 
scientist,  and  constituting  the  basis  of  his  success  as 
an  experimenter  and  scientific  synthesist,  he  seems  to 
have  no  doubts  about  the  old  explanation  of  the  creation 
nor  the  all-wise  directing  power  of  a  Divine  Providence. 
This    is    all   the   more    interesting,    because    already 


290  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  materialistic  view  of  things,  which  claims  ta 
know  nothing  except  what  can  be  learned  from  the 
matter  around  us,  had  begun  to  make  its  way  in  Europe, 
especially  in  scientific  circles,  but  Ohm  remained  un- 
touched by  it. 

Another  example  of  this  same  state  of  mind  in  Ohm 
is  to  be  found  in  the  preface  to  his  last  great  work,  his 
contribution  to  molecular  physics,  in  which  he  hoped 
to  sum  up  all  that  he  could  discover  and  demonstrate 
mathematically  with  regard  to  the  constitution  of  matter. 
He  knew  that  he  was  taking  up  a  work  that  would 
require  many  years  and  much  laborious  occupation  of 
mind.  He  realized,  too,  that  his  duties  as  professor  of 
physics  and  mathematics  as  well  as  the  directorship  of 
the  museum  and  the  consultancy  to  the  department  of 
telegraphs,  left  him  comparatively  little  time  for  the 
work.  He  foresaw  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  finish 
it,  yet  hoped  against  hope  that  he  would.  In  the  pref- 
ace to  the  first  volume,  he  declared  that  he  would  devote 
himself  to  it  at  every  possible  opportunity,  and  that  he 
hoped  that  God  wotdd  spare  him  to  complete  it.  This 
simplicity  of  confidence  in  the  Almighty  is  indeed  a 
striking  characteristic  of  the  man. 

The  work  which  Ohm  began  thus  with  such  humble 
trust  in  God,  was  to  contain  his  conclusions  concerning 
the  nature,  size,  form  and  mode  of  action  of  the  atom, 
with  the  idea  of  being  able  to  deduce,  by  the  aid  of 
analytical  mechanics,  all  the  phenomena  of  matter.  Un- 
fortunately, he  was  spared  only  to  write  the  first,  an  in- 
troductory volume  which  bears  the  title,  "Elements  of 
the  analytical  geometry  of  space  on  a  system  of  oblique 
co-ordinates."  This  did  not  touch,  as  he  confesses,  the 
ultimate  problem  he  had  in  mind.    The  second  volume 


GEORGE  SIMON  OHM  291 

was  to  have  contained  the  dynamics  of  the  structures 
of  bodies,  and  a  third  and  fourth  were  to  be  devoted  to 
the  physical  investigation  of  the  atom  and  its  relation 
to  other  atoms  and  matter  in  general. 

Ohm  devoted  himself,  however,  with  too  much  ardor 
to  his  duties  as  teacher,  to  allow  himself  to  give  the 
time  to  his  own  work  that  would  have  enabled  him  to  fin- 
ish it.  Among  other  things  that  he  did  for  his  students 
was  to  complete  a  text-book  of  physics.  He  confesses 
that  he  had  always  felt  an  aversion  to  working  at  a 
text-book,  and  yet  was  impelled  to  take  up  the  task  be- 
cause he  felt  that  in  electricity,  in  sound  and  in  optics, 
the  only  way  in  which  his  students  would  get  his  ideas, 
many  of  which  were  the  result  of  his  own  work,  was  to 
have  a  text-book  by  himself,  and  he  felt  bound  in  duty 
to  do  this  for  them,  as  he  had  accepted  the  position  of 
instructor.  He  succeeded  in  completing  the  book  very 
rapidly  by  lithographing  his  lectures  immediately  after 
delivery  and  distributing  copies  to  his  classes. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  work  was,  in  its 
way,  thoroughly  original.  It  was  accomplished  with 
the  ease  with  which  he  was  always  able  to  do  things  ; 
but,  unfortunately,  the  strain  of  the  work  told  on  him 
at  his  years  much  more  than  when,  as  a  younger  man, 
he  was  able  to  work  without  fatigue.  He  acknowledges, 
at  the  close  of  the  preface,  that  the  task  has  been  too 
great,  and  that  he  should  not  have  undertaken  its  ac- 
complishment, and  especially  not  in  the  hasty  way  in 
which  it  was  done.  This  preface  was  dated  Easter, 
1854.  Within  a  few  months.  Ohm's  strength  began  to 
fail,  and  the  end  was  not  long  in  coming. 

According  to  the  translation  of  the  address  of  Lom- 
mel  as  it  appeared  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Smith- 


292  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

sonian  Institute  for  1851,  Ohm  died  as  the  result  of 
repeated  attacks  of  epilepsy,  on  July  6th,  1854.  The 
date  is  correct ;  the  mode  of  death,  however,  is  surely 
reported  under  a  misunderstanding.  The  physician 
who  hears  of  epilepsy  is  prone  at  once  to  inquire  as  to 
its  origin,  and  to  wonder  how  long  the  patient  had  been 
suffering  from  it.  There  are  no  reports  of  previous 
attacks  of  epilepsy,  and  the  sudden  development  of 
genuine  epilepsy  in  fatal  form  at  the  age  of  65  is  quite 
unlikely. 

His  German  biographer,  Bauernfeind,  who  is  quoted 
by  Lommel  as  one  of  the  authorities  for  the  details  of 
Ohm's  life,  and  who  was  a  pupil  and  intimate  friend, 
gives  quite  a  different  account.  Up  to  the  very  last 
day  of  his  life.  Ohm  continued  his  lectures.  His  duties 
as  professor  appealed  to  his  conscience  as  no  others. 
On  Thursday,  July  6th,  1854,  he  delivered  his  last  lecture. 
That  night  at  ten  o'clock  he  died.  The  cause  of  his 
death  was  given  as  a  repeated  apopleptic  stroke.  It  is 
evidently  because  of  the  occurrence  of  more  apopleptic 
seizures  than  one,  that  the  assertion  of  epilepsy  was 
introduced  unto  the  account  of  his  death. 

For  some  days  before  his  death,  Ohm  had  been  very 
weak,  but  had  continued  to  fulfil  every  duty.  To  us  in 
the  modern  time,  it  may  seem  surprising  that  there 
should  be  lectures  in  a  university  in  July  ;  but  the  sec- 
ond semester  of  the  university  year  in  Germany  is  not 
supposed  to  come  to  a  close  until  the  first  of  August, 
when  the  summer  vacation  begins,  and  lectures  are 
continued  until  well  on  into  July.  The  manner  of  Ohm's 
death,  as  told  by  his  biographer  friend,  at  once  corrects 
the  idea  of  epilepsy,  and  also  shows  that  his  passing 
came  without  any  of  the  preliminary  suffering  that 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  293 

makes  death  a  real  misfortune.  A  half  hour  before  his 
death,  he  had  been  entertaining  some  friends  with 
lively  recollections  of  the  events  of  his  early  life  in  Col- 
ogne and  Treves.  He  had  been  quite  gay  in  the  stories 
that  he  told,  and  almost  boyishly  happy  in  the  recollec- 
tions of  those  early  days.  For  one  for  whom  duty  had 
meant  so  much  in  life,  and  who  had  always  tried  so  faith- 
fully to  fulfil  it,  no  happier  call  to  higher  things  could 
possibly  be  imagined  than  that  which  came  to  Ohm. 

On  the  following  Sunday  he  was  followed  to  the  grave 
by  numbers  of  friends,  by  all  his  colleagues  and  by  most 
of  the  students  of  the  Munich  University.  The  univer- 
sity felt  that  it  had  suffered  a  great  loss,  and  no  signs 
of  its  grief  were  felt  to  be  too  much.  Ohm  was  buried 
in  the  old  Munich  graveyard,  where  his  bones  still  rest, 
beneath  the  simple  memorial  not  unworthy  of  the  mod- 
est scientist  who  did  his  work  patiently  and  quietly,  yet 
with  never-failing  persistency ;  who  cared  not  for  the 
applause  of  the  multitude,  and  accomplished  so  much 
quite  independently  of  any  of  the  ordinary  helps  from 
others  and  from  great  educational  institutions  that  are 
often  supposed  to  be  almost  indispensably  necessary 
for  the  accomplishment  of  original  scientific  work. 

Ohm's  personal  appearance  will  be  of  interest  to 
many  of  those  to  whom  his  discoveries  have  made  him 
appeal  as  one  of  the  great  original  thinkers  in  modern 
science.  He  was  almost  small  in  stature,  even  below 
middle  height ;  and  those  who  remember  Virchow,  may 
get  something  of  an  idea  of  his  appearance  when  told 
that  those  who  saw  Ohm  and  knew  Virchow,  considered 
that  there  was  a  certain  reminder  of  each  other  in  the 
two  men.  According  to  his  intimate  friend  and  biog- 
rapher, he  had  a  very  expressive  face,  with  a  high, 


294  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

somewhat  doubled  forehead.  His  eyes  were  deep  and 
full  of  intelligence.  His  mouth,  very  sharply  defined, 
betrayed,  at  the  first  glance,  at  once  the  earnest  thinker 
and  the  pleasant  man  of  friendly  disposition.  He  was 
always  restful  and  never  seemed  to  be  distracted.  He 
talked  but  little,  but  his  conversation  was  always  in- 
teresting, and,  except  when  he  was  in  some  particularly 
serious  mood,  was  always  likely  to  have  a  vein  of  light 
humor  in  it.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  introduce  a  sparkle 
of  wit  now  and  then  into  his  lectures,  and  especially  knew 
how  gently  to  make  fun  of  mistakes  made  by  his  pupils, 
yet  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  hurt  their  feelings,  but  to 
make  them  realize  the  necessity  for  more  careful  thought 
before  giving  answers,  and  for  appreciating  principles 
before  speculating  on  them.  He  was  particularly  care- 
ful not  to  do  anything  that  would  offend  his  students 
in  any  way,  and  it  is  to  this  care  that  the  success  of  his 
method  of  teaching  has  been  especially  attributed. 

His  habits  of  life  were  from  the  beginning  of  his 
career  simple,  and  they  continued  to  be  so  until  the  end. 
He  was  never  married,  and  he  himself  attributed  this 
to  the  unfavorable  condition  of  his  material  resources  at 
the  beginning  of  his  career  as  a  teacher,  and  the  fact 
that  the  improvement  in  these  did  not  really  come  until 
he  was  well  past  fifty  years  of  age.  He  once  confessed 
to  a  friend  that  he  missed  those  modest  pleasures  of 
family  life  which  do  so  much  to  give  courage  and 
strength  for  the  greater  as  well  as  the  lesser  sufferings 
of  life.  Most  of  his  years  of  teaching  he  spent  in 
boarding  houses.  Only  after  his  appointment  to  the 
professorship  at  Munich  was  he  able  to  have  a  dwelling 
for  himself,  which  was  presided  over  by  a  near  relative. 

Ohm  is  remembered  as  a  teacher  rather  than  as  an 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  295 

educational  administrator.  His  pupils  recall  him  as  one 
who  was  able  to  be  eminently  suggestive,  while  at  the 
same  time  he  succeeded  in  making  it  easy  to  acquire  the 
details  of  information.  The  didactic  lecture,  as  a  method 
of  teaching,  did  not  appeal  to  him,  and  his  success  was 
due  to  the  application  of  quite  other  methods.  He 
realized  how  much  personal  influence  meant,  and  the 
peculiarity  of  his  system  of  teaching  was  an  almost 
uninterrupted  lively  personal  intercourse  with  his  pupils. 
Demonstrations  and  exercises  at  the  board  always  oc- 
cupied the  first  half  of  his  two-hour  lesson,  and  only  the 
other  half  was  devoted  to  the  setting  forth  of  new 
matter.  In  this  way.  Ohm  succeeded  not  only  in  in- 
fluencing each  student  according  to  his  personal  endow- 
ments, but  he  also  began  the  training  of  future  teachers 
by  giving  them  a  living  example  of  what  their  work 
should  be. 

The  success  of  Ohm  as  a  teacher  was  recognized  on 
all  sides.  His  attitude  towards  his  scholars  was  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  was  assumed  by  many  teachers. 
Instead  of  being  a  mere  conveyer  of  scientific  informa- 
tion, he  was  himself  "a  high  priest  of  science,"  as  one 
of  his  pupils  declared,  supplying  precious  inspiration, 
and  not  merely  pointing  out  the  limits  of  lessons  and 
finding  out  whether  they  were  known,  but  making  work 
productively  interesting,  while  neglecting  none  of  the 
details.  His  pupils  became  distinguished  engineers, 
and  as  this  is  the  period  in  which  the  state  railroads 
were  being  built,  there  was  plenty  of  opportunity  for 
them  to  apply  the  instruction  they  had  received.  Not 
only  were  the  reports  of  the  Royal  Commission  of 
Inspection  repeated  evidence  of  Ohm's  success  as  a 
teacher,  but  the  technical  schools  which  were  under  the 


296  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

care  of  Ohm's  disciples  soon  came  to  be  recognized  as 
far  above  the  average,  and  as  representing  not  only  the 
successful  teaching  of  technics  on  his  part,  but  also  the 
influence  that  his  example  as  a  teacher  had  in  forming 
others  to  carry  on  the  work. 

How  much  Ohm  was  beloved  by  those  who  knew  him 
best  can  be  properly  appreciated  from  the  following  pas- 
sage from  the  panegyric  delivered  in  Munich  in  1855, 
not  long  after  his  death,  by  Professor  Lamont,  who 
had  know  him  intimately:  "Nature,"  he  said,  "con- 
ferred upon  Ohm  goodness  of  heart  and  unselfishness  to* 
an  unusual  degree.  These  precious  qualities  formed  the 
groundwork  of  all  his  intercourse  with  his  fellows.  De- 
spite the  underlying  strength  of  his  character,  which 
kept  him  faithfully  at  work  during  all  his  career,  when- 
ever there  was  question  of  merely  personal  advantage 
to  himself,  he  preferred  to  yield  to  pressure  from  with- 
out, rather  than  rouse  himself  to  resistance,  and  he  thus 
avoided  all  bitterness  in  life.  The  unfortunate  events 
which  forced  him,  during  the  early  part  of  his  career,, 
from  an  advantageous  position  back  into  private  life, 
did  not  produce  any  misanthropic  feelings  in  him,  and 
when  later  a  brilliant  recognition  gave  him  that  rank  in 
the  world  of  science  which  by  right  belonged  to  him,  his 
simplicity  of  conduct  was  not  in  any  way  modified,  nor 
was  the  modesty  of  his  disposition  at  all  altered."  In  a 
word.  Ohm  was  one  of  those  rare  geniuses  whose  mag- 
nanimity placed  him  above  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune. 
His  power  to  do  original  work  was  not  disturbed  by  the 
opposition  which  a  really  new  discoverer  invariably 
meets,  but  his  unfailing  equanimity  was  just  as  little 
exalted  into  conceit  and  pretentiousness  by  the  praise 


GEORGE  SIMON   OHM  297 

which  so  justly  came  to  him  once  the  real  significance  of 
his  scientific  work  dawned  upon  the  world. 

With  the  realization  of  all  that  Ohm's  work  meant  in 
the  department  of  electricity,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
how  his  name  deserves  a  place  in  the  science  for  all  time. 
In  order  permanently  to  honor  his  memory,  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Electricians,  which  met  at  Paris  in 
1881,  confirmed  the  action  of  the  British  Association  of 
1861,  by  giving  the  name  ohm  to  the  unit  of  electrical  re- 
sistance. This  is  an  ideal  monument  to  the  great  worker. 
It  is  as  simple  and  modest  a  reward  as  even  he  would 
have  wished,  expressing  as  it  does,  the  gratitude  of 
succeeding  generations  of  scientists  for  all  time. 


298  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  X. 
Faraday. 

The  maxim  current  among  European  scientists,  that 
it  is  well  to  wait  before  accepting  any  scientific  discovery 
to  see  what  will  be  said  about  it  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Rhine,  throws  a  rather  curious  sidelight  on  the  supposed 
absoluteness  of  scientific  knowledge.  Gallic  enthusiasm 
or  German  subtlety  may  evolve  plausible  theories  that 
look  like  scientific  discoveries,  but  the  destructive  criti- 
cism of  the  neighbor  nation  usually  saves  the  scientific 
world  from  deception.  Not  infrequently,  the  English- 
speaking  scientists  held  the  balance  between  these  rivals 
in  the  intellectual  world,  and  their  adhesion  to  either 
party  or  side  of  a  question  secured  its  dominance.  When 
all  three,  Germans  and  French  and  English,  are  agreed 
as  to  the  value  of  a  scientific  discovery,  then  it  may  be 
looked  upon  as  having  some  of  the  absoluteness,  or  at 
least  possesses  for  the  moment  the  finality  of  scientific 
truth.  If  this  triple  agreement  be  taken  as  the  criterion 
of  the  significance  of  a  great  scientist's  work,  then  must 
Michael  Faraday  be  considered  as  without  doubt  one  of 
the  greatest  scientists  of  our  time,  and  probably  the 
greatest  experimental  scientist  that  the  world  has 
known. 

Dubois  Reymond,  in  Berlin,  declared  Faraday  ''the 
greatest  experimentalist  of  all  times,  and  the  greatest 
physical  discoverer  that  ever  lived."  Professor  Mar- 
tius  said  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Munich, 


MICHAEL  FARADAY 


FARADAY  299 

"Deservedly  has  Faraday  been  called  the  greatest  ex- 
perimenter of  his  epoch,  and  that  the  greatest  epoch  of 
scientific  experimentation  down  to  our  time."    Dumas, 
the  French  chemist,  in  the  panegyric  delivered  before  the 
French  Academy  of  Sciences,  declared  that  Faraday  was 
"the  greatest  scientific  scholar  that  the  Academy  ever 
possessed."    In  order  to  give  a  picture  of  what  he  had 
.accomplished  in  electricity,  added  Dumas,  one  would 
have  to  write  a  complete  treatise  on  that    subject. 
"  There  is  nothing  in  this  department  of  science  that 
Faraday  has  not  investigated  completely  or  very  materi- 
ally modified.     Much  of  this  chapter  of  our  modern  sci- 
•ence  is  his  creation  and  belongs  undeniably  to  him." 
Beside  these  testimonies  from  French  and  German  sci- 
entific contemporaries  must  be  placed  Tyndall's  appre- 
ciation, which  sets  forth  his  brother  scientist's  merits. 
"Take  him  all  in  all,"  he  said,  "it  must  be  admitted,  I 
think,  that  Michael  Faraday  was  the  greatest  experi- 
;mental  scientist  that  the  world  has  ever  seen." 

Nor  did  these  magnificent  appreciations  of  Faraday 
fcease  when  the  enthusiasm  for  his  memory,  immediately 
after  his  death,  had  faded  somewhat  into  sober  realiza- 
tion of  his  merits.  When  Dumas  summed  up  Faraday 
in  the  first  Faraday  lecture  of  the  English  Chemical 
Society,  he  said:  "Faraday  was  a  type  of  the  most 
fortunate  and  the  most  accomplished  of  the  learned  men 
of  our  age.  His  hand,  in  the  execution  of  his  concep- 
tions, kept  pace  with  his  mind  in  designing  them  ;  he 
never  wanted  boldness  when  he  undertook  an  experi- 
ment, never  lacked  resources  to  insure  success,  and  was 
full  of  discretion  when  interpreting  results.  His  hardi- 
hood, which  never  halted  once  he  had  undertaken  a 
task,  and  his  wariness,  which  felt  its  way  carefully  in 


300  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

adopting  a  received  conclusion,  will  ever  serve  as  models- 
for  the  experimentalist." 

It  is  evident  that  the  life  of  Faraday  should  be  of 
supreme  interest  for  a  generation  that  is  mainly  inter- 
ested in  experimental  science,  and  it  so  happens  that 
his  career  contains  many  other  sources  of  interest ; 
for  Faraday  was  a  self-made  man,  who  owed  very  little 
to  anyone  but  himself  and  his  own  genius.  Besides,  he 
was  a  deep  thinker  with  regard  to  all  the  problems  of 
human  life  as  well  as  those  of  science,  and  while  he  was 
a  genial,  kindly  friend  to  those  near  him,  the  charm- 
ing associate  whom  scientific  intimates  always  wel- 
comed, he  had  no  illusions  with  regard  to  life  being  the^ 
end  of  all  things,  but  looked  confidently  to  the  hereafter, 
and  shaped  his  life  here  from  that  point  of  view. 

Michael  Faraday  was  born  at  Newington  Butts,  now 
called  Stoke  Newington,  an  outskirt  of  London,  in  Sur- 
rey, September  22d,  1791.  His  father  was  a  journey- 
man blacksmith  whose  health  was  not  very  good,  and 
as  a  consequence,  the  family  suffered  not  a  little  from 
poverty.  Both  his  parents  were  noted  for  their  good 
habits,  industrious  lives  and  deep  religious  feelings. 
In  spite  of  their  poverty,  as  is  much  oftener  the  case 
than  is  sometimes  thought,  their  children  were  brought 
up  very  carefully  and  had  a  precious  training  in 
high  principles.  Like  most  of  his  great  colleagues  in 
scientific  discovery,  Faraday  had  to  begin  to  earn  his. 
livelihood  early  in  life.  Of  educational  opportunities  he 
had  practically  none.  He  learned  to  read  and  write, 
and  probably  had  a  certain  slight  training  in  doing  sim- 
ple sums  in  arithmetic,  but  that  was  the  extent  of  his 
formal  teaching,  and  much  of  that  he  got  at  home.  He 
had  to  help  in  the  support  of  his  family,  and  so  it  seemed 


FARADAY  301 

fortunate  that  not  far  away  from  his  home  there  was 
a  bookstore  and  bindery,  the  owner  of  which  became 
interested  in  the  Faradays  and  took  Michael  as  an  errand 
boy  when  he  was  scarcely  thirteen  years  of  age. 

It  was  here  that  the  future  scientist  began  his  educa- 
tion for  himself  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  laid  the 
deep  foundation  of  his  knowledge  of  science.  For  the 
first  year  he  carried  newspapers  around  to  the  custom- 
ers, and  did  his  work  so  faithfully  that  at  the  end  of  this 
time  the  bookbinder  offered  to  take  him  as  an  appren- 
tice to  the  trade,  without  the  usual  premium  which  used 
to  be  rather  strictly  required  for  teaching  boys  their 
trades  at  that  time.  Faraday  accepted  this  offer,  but 
proved  to  be  interested  much  more  than  in  the  out- 
sides  of  the  books  he  bound.  Whatever  of  leisure  there 
ivas  he  took  advantage  of  to  read  a  number  of  works  on 
experimental  science  that  happened  to  be  in  the  shop. 
Luckily  for  him,  some  of  these  were  classics.  As  an 
introduction  to  chemistry,  he  had  Mrs.  Marcet's  "Con- 
versations on  Chemistry"  and  Robert  Boyle's  "Notes 
about  the  Producibleness  of  chimicall  Principles."  He 
was  even  more  interested  in  electricity  than  in  chemis- 
try, however,  and  Lyons'  "Experiments  on  Electric- 
ity "  and  the  article  on  electricity  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Britannica,  whetted  his  interest  and  made  the  boy  wish 
for  more  of  such  information.  There  probably  could  not 
he  a  better  proof  of  the  fact  that,  a  man  who  really  has 
intellectual  interests  will  find  the  material  with  which 
to  satisfy  them,  in  spite  of  untoward  circumstances, 
than  this  boyish  experience  of  Faraday. 

It  is  a  curious  anticipation  of  Faraday's  after-career 
that  he  at  once  began  to  demonstrate  by  personal  ex- 
periment some  of  the  statements  that  he  found  in  the 


302  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

books.  He  procured  a  stock  of  chemicals  as  far  as  his 
meagre  salary  would  allow,  and  constructed  a  practical 
electrical  machine,  though  he  had  nothing  better  than  a 
large  glass  bottle  to  serve  as  a  cylinder  for  it.  When 
not  yet  fourteen,  he  noticed  an  advertisement  of  a  set 
of  lectures  on  natural  philosophy.  He  was  at  once 
taken  with  the  idea  of  going  to  them,  but  the  price  of 
admission,  one  shilling,  seemed  to  place  them  entirely 
beyond  him.  His  elder  brother,  who  followed  his 
father's  trade  of  blacksmith,  had  more  money  than  he, 
and,  when  properly  cajoled,  was  persuaded  to  provide 
the  necessary  shillings,  and  so  Faraday  got  to  the  lec- 
tures. Elder  brothers  do  not  often  have  to  lend  shillings 
to  their  juniors  for  admission  to  scientific  lectures  now 
any  more  than  in  Faraday's  time,  so  that  the  incident 
seems  worth  noting. 

In  attendance  at  these  lectures,  Faraday  not  only 
learned  much  that  was  new  to  him  in  science,  but  met 
a  number  of  earnest  fellow-students  and  formed  some 
life-long  friendships.  He  took  copious  notes,  and  after- 
wards wrote  them  out  in  a  fine,  legible  hand,  making 
excellent  drawings  in  perspective  of  the  apparatus  em- 
ployed in  the  experiments.  His  notes  were  so  extensive 
that  Faraday  bound  them  himself,  in  four  volumes,  with 
an  index.  These  volumes  are  still  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Royal  Institution  as  one  of  the  precious 
treasures  among  its  Faraday  relics.  ^  The  whole  story 
of  these  early  years  of  Faraday's  life  is  a  series  of 
illustrations  of  how  a  young  man  without  the  necessary 

iSome  of  the  books  bound  by  Faraday  at  this  time  are  still  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Royal  Institution,  together  with  his  notes  on  various  courses  of  lec- 
tures, some  of  which  are  mentioned  more  particularly  later  on  in  this  sketch,  as  they 
were  also  bound  by  himi.  Among  the  manuscripts  in  the  collection  are  letters  from 
many  of  the  important  scientific  scientists  of  Europe. 


FARADAY  303: 

opportunities  for  his  favorite  studies  can  make  them 
for  himself.  Everything  seemed  to  be  against  his 
acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  science,  yet  he 
succeeded  in  creating  for  himself  the  equivalent  of  a 
good  scientific  course  out  of  his  meagre  chances  to  hear 
lectures  and  read  books  on  his  favorite  subject  in  the 
intervals  of  a  busy  life  as  book-seller  and  book-binder. 

Things  did  not  always  continue  to  run  along  as  pleas- 
antly in  life  for  young  Faraday  as  while  he  was  working 
for  his  book-binder  friend  as  an  apprentice.  With  the 
conclusion  of  his  apprenticeship  he  became  a  journey- 
man book-binder,  and  his  first  employer  proved  to  be  a 
hard  task-master.  It  did  not  matter  how  much  work 
Faraday  did  or  how  well,  it  never  quite  satisfied  this 
French  emigre,  until  it  is  no  wonder  that  Faraday 
looked  for  another  occupation.  For  a  time,  he  had  the 
congenial  occupation  of  acting  as  amanuensis  for  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  who,  while  working  on  a  new  violent 
explosive,  probably  chloride  of  hydrogen,  met  with  an 
accident  which  prevented  him  from  using  his  eyes  for 
some  time.  This  occupation,  pleasant  and  even  alluring 
as  it  was,  lasted  only  for  a  few  days,  however.  It  had 
the  fortunate  result  of  suggesting  to  Faraday  to  apply 
to  Sir  Humphry  Davy  in  person  for  a  position  not 
long  after,  and  it  eventually  brought  him  the  position  of 
assistant  at  the  Royal  Institution. 

His  anxiety  to  secure  this  post  had  been  increased  by 
the  growing  realization  that  a  business  life  was  not  to 
his  hking.  It  seemed  to  him  a  waste  of  time,  or  worse, 
for  a  man  to  give  himself  up  to  the  making  of  money. 
Even  thus  young  he  had  the  ambition  to  add  to  the 
knowledge  possessed  by  mankind,  and  the  insatiable 
desire  to  increase  the  opportunities  of  others  to  learn 


304  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

whatever  they  were  interested  in.  Accordingly,  he  set 
about  finding  the  chance  to  devote  himself  entirely  to 
science. 

In  writing  years  after  to  Dr.  Paris,  he  says :  ' '  My 
desire  to  escape  from  trade,  which  I  thought  vicious  and 
selfish,  and  to  enter  into  the  service  of  science,  which  I 
imagined  made  its  pursuers  amiable  and  liberal,  induced 
me  at  last  to  take  the  bold  and  simple  step  of  writing  to 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  expressing  my  wishes,  and  a  hope 
that,  if  an  opportunity  came  in  his  way,  he  should  favor 
my  views  ;  and  at  the  same  time  I  sent  the  notes  I  had 
taken  of  his  lectures."  Davy  called,  not  long  after,  on 
one  of  his  friends,  who  was  at  the  time  honorary  in- 
spector of  the  models  and  apparatus  at  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution, and  with  the  letter  before  him  asked  :  "Here  is 
a  letter  from  a  young  man  named  Faraday  ;  he  has  been 
attending  my  lectures  and  wants  me  to  give  him  em- 
ployment at  the  Royal  Institution.  What  can  I  do?" 
**  Do?  "  replied  the  inspector  ;  "put  him  to  wash  bottles. 
If  he  is  good  for  anything,  he  will  do  it  directly ;  if 
he  refuses,  he  is  good  for  nothing. "  "  No,  no, ' '  replied 
Davy,  ' '  we  must  try  him  with  something  better  than 
that." 

Davy  wrote  a  kind  reply,  and  arranged  for  an  in- 
terview with  young  Faraday.  In  this,  however,  he 
candidly  advised  him  to  stick  to  his  business,  telling 
him  very  plainly  that  "science  was  a  harsh  mistress, 
and,  from  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  but  poorly  rewarded 
those  who  devoted  themselves  to  her  service."  He  ap- 
parently put  an  end  to  all  further  consideration  of  the 
subject  by  promising  Faraday  the  book-binding  work 
■of  the  Institution,  and  his  own  besides. 

Faraday  was  not  satisfied  to  go  back  to  the  book-shop, 


FARADAY  305 

even  with  all  this  kindly  patronage,  but  there  was  noth- 
ing else  for  it,  and  so  for  a  time  he  continued  at  his 
duties  and  spent  his  spare  moments  reading  science  and 
his  evenings  at  scientific  lectures,  or  in  remaking  the 
experiments  he  had  seen  and  others  suggested  by  them, 
and  above  all  in  rewriting  the  notes  that  he  had  taken. 
There  is  no  livelier  picture  in  all  the  history  of  science, 
of  how  a  man  will,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  get  the 
things  he  cares  for,  if  he  really  cares  for  them,  than 
that  of  Faraday  thus  teaching  himself  science  in  the 
face  of  what  seems  almost  insurmountable  discourage- 
ment. Fortunately,  not  long  after  he  had  been  thus 
forcibly  called  to  the  attention  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy, 
the  former  assistant  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Royal 
Institution  not  only  neglected  his  duties,  but  became  a 
source  of  considerable  annoyance.  His  misfortune 
proved  Faraday's  opportunity.  He  was  offered  the  post. 
The  salary  was  only  twenty-five  shillings  a  week,  but 
he  accepted  it  very  willingly.  One  might  think  that  at 
last  his  scientific  career  was  opened  for  him,  but  his 
new  post  was  no  sinecure.  The  labors  required  from 
him,  indeed,  were  so  manifold  that  it  is  somewhat 
surprising  that  he  found  any  time  for  his  own  improve- 
ment.   His  duties  as  set  forth  in  writing  were : 

"To  attend  and  assist  the  lecturers  and  professors 
preparing  for  and  during  lectures.  Where  any  instru- 
ments or  apparatus  may  be  required,  to  attend  to  their 
careful  removal  from  the  model  room  and  laboratory  to 
the  lecture  room,  and  to  clean  and  replace  them  after 
being  used,  reporting  to  the  managers  such  accidents  as 
shall  require  repair,  a  constant  diary  being  kept  by  him 
for  that  purpose.  That  in  one  day  in  each  week  he  be 
employed  in  keeping  clean  the  models  in  the  reposi- 
tory, and  that  all  the  instnmients  in  the  glass  cases  be 
cleaned  and  dusted  at  least  once  within  a  month." 


306      •  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

The  previous  assistant  had  complained  of  the  amount 
of  work  that  was  required  of  him.  It  is  easy  to  see 
that  his  duties  were  rather  exacting  and  time-taking. 
Faraday  did  not  confine  himself  to  them,  though  he  did 
perform  them  with  great  assiduity.  His  interest  in 
experimental  chemistry  was  soon  noted,  and  he  was  al- 
lowed to  take  his  share  in  the  experiments  going  on  in 
the  laboratory.  Some  of  his  first  work  was  the  extrac- 
tion of  sugar  from  beet-root ;  but  he  was  soon  to  have 
abundant  experience  of  the  deterring  side  of  chemistry. 
Not  long  after  he  began  his  work  in  the  laboratory,  he 
had  to  manufacture  some  bisulphide  of  carbon,  one  of 
the  most  nauseating  of  compounds.  He  found  it  dis- 
gusting enough  as  an  experience,  but  the  study  of  it 
brought  its  compensation. 

,  It  was  much  more  than  foul  odors  that  Faraday  had 
to  encounter,  for  Davy  was  still  occupying  himself  with 
the  study  of  the  explosives,  in  the  investigation  of  which 
he  had  been  injured  the  previous  year.  Faraday  suf- 
fered from  four  or  five  explosions  during  the  course  of 
the  first  month  or  two  of  his  employment.  Indeed,  the 
substance  with  which  they  were  experimenting  proved 
so  unreliable  in  this  regard  that,  after  a  second  rather 
serious  injury  to  Davy,  further  study  of  it  was  given  up. 

Once  Faraday  had  secured  his  post  at  the  Royal  In- 
stitution, his  life-work  was  before  him,  and  he  became 
deeply  engaged  in  scientific  speculations,  investigations 
and  experiments  of  all  kinds.  The  young  man  who 
had  found  and  made  opportunities  when  they  were  so 
distant  and  difficult,  now  made  use  of  all  that  were 
so  ready  at  hand.  He  did  not  confine  himself  to  his 
laboratory  work,  however,  but  seems  always  to  have 
felt  that  the  contact  of  minds  engaged  along  the  same 


FARADAY  307 

lines  was  the  best  possible  way  to  be  stimulated  to 
knowledge.  He  applied  and  was  admitted  as  member 
of  the  Philosophical  Society  of  London,  an  association  of 
some  two  score  of  men  occupied  with  many  things  dur- 
ing the  day,  but  interested  in  science,  so  far  as  they 
could  get  the  books  and  the  opportunities  for  its  study. 
They  met  every  Wednesday  evening  and  discussed 
various  subjects  in  science  or,  as  they  called  it  then,  in 
philosophy,  and  they  seem  to  have  occupied  themselves 
with  many  questions  in  the  social  as  well  as  the  natural 
sciences.  These  men,  most  of  whom  were  older  than 
Faraday,  soon  came  to  look  up  to  him  because  of  the 
depth  and  increasing  breadth  of  his  knowledge,  and  we 
have  some  emphatic  expressions  of  their  admiration  for 
him. 

Faraday's  earliest  successful  scientific  investigation 
was  accomplished  in  chemistry.  This  might  have  been 
expected,  from  the  fact  that  he  began  his  work  with 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  whose  principal  scientific  investi- 
gations had  been  concerned  with  chemistry.  His  own 
great  scientific  work  was  to  be  done  in  electricity.  Even 
in  the  brief  time  that  he  devoted  to  chemistry,  however, 
he  succeeded  in  making  some  discoveries  of  deep  sig- 
nificance. For  instance,  in  his  special  study  of  chlorine, 
he  demonstrated  the  existence  of  the  two  chlorides  of 
carbon  which  had  not  hitherto  been  obtained.  Above 
all,  he  impressed  his  personality  upon  methods  in  chem- 
istry. He  was  the  first  to  realize  how  much  technics 
were  to  mean  in  the  modern  advancement  of  science, 
and  he  made  methodic  chemistry,  in  distinction  from 
practical  chemistry,  the  object  of  very  special  study. 
His  work  on  Chemical  Manipulation  did  more  to  train 
successful  students  of  chemistry  and  to  make  good 


308  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

investigators  in  this  department  of  science  than  any- 
other  single  work  in  his  generation.  It  has  continued 
to  be  of  interest  down  even  to  our  own  time,  and  is  well 
worthy  of  consultation  by  all  those  who  are  interested 
in  chemistry  as  a  science,  and  especially  in  original 
research  in  that  subject. 

It  was  with  regard  to  gases,  however,  that  Faraday's 
most  striking  chemical  work  was  done.  He  succeeded  in 
liquefying  several  gases,  and  was  the  first  to  make  clear 
that  all  matter  could  probably  exist  in  each  of  the  three 
different  states— solid,  liquid  and  gaseous— according  as 
the  proper  conditions  for  each  particular  state  were  pres- 
ent. One  might  almost  have  expected  that  the  serious 
dangers  incurred  in  his  early  days  in  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion, when  his  chief,  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  suffered  so 
severely  and  he  himself  was  more  than  once  involved, 
might  have  deterred  him  from  further  investigation 
along  similar  lines ;  but  Faraday's  ardor  for  scientific 
investigation  overcame  any  hesitancy  there  might  have 
been.  The  effect  of  gases  upon  human  beings  proved 
as  attractive  to  Faraday  as  it  had  been  to  Davy.  His 
experiments  upon  chlorine  threatened  to  prove  seriously 
injurious  to  his  throat,  and  he  was  warned  of  the  danger 
that  he  was  running  in  the  effort  to  determine  whether 
such  gases  were  respirable  and  what  their  effects  upon 
human  beings  were.  The  warning  was  disregarded, 
however,  though  he  exercised  somewhat  more  care  in 
subsequent  observations.  His  experiments  in  the  res- 
piration of  gases  finally  led  him  to  a  discovery  of  cardi- 
nal importance  in  the  very  practical  field  of  anaesthesia. 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  just  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  had  made  a  series  of  interesting  ex- 
periments on  nitrous  oxide  gas,  the  so-called  "laughing 


FARADAY  309 

gas,"  and  had  pointed  out  very  definitely  its  anaesthetic 
properties.  While  suffering  from  toothache  he  had 
inhaled  the  gas,  and  had  experienced  prompt  allevia- 
tion of  the  pain.  He  described  in  detail  these  curious 
effects,  and  suggested  that  there  might  be  a  place  for 
nitrous  oxide  in  surgery,  at  least  for  minor  operations. 
The  words  he  employed  with  regard  to  this  subject  show 
that  the  idea  of  anaesthesia,  as  we  now  understand  it, 
had  come  to  him  very  definitely.  Not  quite  a  score  of 
years  later,  Faraday,  recalling  the  experiments  of  Davy 
with  nitrous  oxide,  studied  sulphuric  ether,  and  showed 
that  the  inhalation  of  the  vapor  of  this  substance  pro- 
duced anaesthetic  effects  very  similar  to  those  of  nitrous 
oxide  gas,  but  with  the  possibility  of  prolonging  them 
much  more  easily  and  apparently  with  less  danger  than 
would  be  the  case  with  the  latter.  In  every  history 
of  anaesthesia,  these  two  sets  of  experiments  at  the 
Royal  Institution  must  be  set  down  as  foundation-stones, 
and  Faraday's  name  particularly  must  be  hailed  as  one 
of  the  initiators  of  a  supremely  beneficent  advance  in 
modern  surgery. 

Faraday  had  given  up  business  to  devote  himself  to 
science,  and  he  was  not  to  be  seduced  from  the  purpose 
of  making  his  life  unselfish  and  doing  things,  not  for 
money,  but  for  the  good  of  science  and  his  own  satis- 
faction. As  a  practical  chemist,  he  soon  had  many 
opportunities  to  increase  his  salary  by  making  analyses 
for  industrial  purposes.  During  one  year,  the  amount 
of  work  thus  offered  him  was  paid  for  so  well  that  it 
formed  an  addition  of  some  £500  sterling  to  his  salary. 
It  took  away  precious  time,  however,  that  he  might 
otherwise  devote  to  original  work.  As  soon  as  Faraday 
realized  this  possibility  of  interference  with  his  scientific 


310  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

investigations,  he  cut  it  off,  quite  content  to  live  on  the 
modest  salary  of  his  position  at  the  Royal  Institution. 
His  action  in  the  matter  would  remind  one  very  much 
of  Pasteur,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  century,  when  asked 
by  the  Empress  Eugenie,  to  whom  he  had  been  just 
exhibiting  his  discoveries  in  fermentation,  whether  he 
would  not  apply  these  to  actual  manufacture  and  so 
make  a  fortune  for  himself  in  brewing.  Pasteur  repHed 
that  he  thought  it  unworthy  of  a  French  scientist  to 
devote  his  time  to  money-making,  with  all  the  world  of 
science  open  before  him.^ 

With  a  conscientious  patriotism,  however,  that  was 
typical  of  the  man  and  his  ways,  there  was  one  excep- 
tion to  this  rule  of  not  taking  outside  work  that  Faraday 
made.  In  a  letter  to  Lord  Auckland,  long  afterward,  he 
says  :  "  I  have  given  up  for  the  last  ten  years  or  more, 
all  professional  occupation  and  voluntarily  resigned  a 
large  income,  that  I  might  pursue  in  some  degree  my 
own  objects  of  research.  But  in  doing  this  I  have  al- 
ways, as  a  good  subject,  held  myself  ready  to  assist  the 
government  if  still  in  my  power,  but  not  for  pay  ;  for, 
except  in  one  instance  (and  then  only  for  the  sake  of  the 
person  joined  with  me),  I  refused  to  take  it.  I  have  had 
the  honor  and  pleasure  of  application,  and  that  very 
recently,  from  the  Admiralty,  the  Ordnance,  the  Home 
Office,  the  Woods  and  Forests  and  other  departments, 
all  of  which  I  have  replied  to  and  will  reply  to  as  long 
as  strength  is  left  me." 

As  we  have  said,  Faraday's  principal  work  was  ac- 
complished in  the  domain  of  electricity.  His  supreme 
discovery,  and,  indeed,  the  most  important  practical 
discovery  in  the  whole  realm  of  electricity,  was  that 

1  Makers  of  Modern  Medicine,  Fordham  University  Press,  N.  Y.,  1907. 


FARADAY  311 

of  the  induction  effect  of  a  current  of  electricity  on  a 
neighboring  circuit.  This  was  accomplished  by  experi- 
mental work  of  the  highest  order.  Toward  the  end  of 
1824,  when  he  was  about  thirty-three,  he  came  to  the 
definite  conclusion  that  an  electric  current  might  be  ob- 
tained by  the  motion  of  a  magnet.  His  mind  had  been 
prepared  for  such  a  conclusion  by  Oersted's  significant 
discovery  in  July,  1820,  that  an  electric  current  acts 
somewhat  like  a  magnet  when  the  wire  through  which 
it  flows  is  free  to  move.  This  discovery,  definitely 
connecting  electricity  and  magnetism,  had  been  elabor- 
ated to  an  important  degree  by  Ampere,  and  its  sphere 
of  application  broadened  by  Wollaston.  The  curious 
though  not  unusual  result  in  such  cases,  that  it  is  not 
those  who  are  in  immediate  touch  with  a  great  discoverer 
who  develop  or  even  apply  his  work,  was  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  Ampere,  the  Frenchman,  took  up  Oersted's 
discovery  first,  while  Wollaston,  working  in  England, 
had  been  the  next  one  to  follow  successfully  in  the  path 
thus  opened  up.  It  takes  genius  to  go  even  a  slight 
step  farther  into  the  unknown  ;  the  trained  talent  of 
disciples  does  not  suffice.  It  was  now  Faraday,  though 
not  under  Wollaston 's  influence,  who  was  to  continue 
successfully  these  labors. 

In  spite  of  his  persuasion  that  a  magnet  would  pro- 
duce by  induction  an  electric  current,  and  the  further 
step  that  a  current  in  one  wire  could  induce  a  current 
in  another,  experiments  during  seven  years  had  brought 
him  very  little  nearer  the  actual  demonstration  of  this 
important  principle.  Those  who  think  that  great  dis- 
coveries are  made  by  accident  and  almost  fall  into  the 
laps  of  their  makers,  as  the  apple  upon  Newton,  should 
recall  these  seven  years  of  unsuccessful  labor  on  the 


312  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

part  of  Faraday.  Finally,  in  1831,  he  obtained  the  first 
definite  evidence  that  an  electric  current  can  induce 
another  in  a  different  circuit.  The  discovery  meant  so 
much  for  him,  that  he  hesitated  to  believe  in  his  own 
success.  Nearly  a  month  after  this  first  demonstration 
for  himself,  he  wrote  to  his  friend  Phillips :  "I  am 
busy  just  now  again  on  electro-magnetism,  and  think  I 
have  got  hold  of  a  good  thing,  but  can't  ^ay.  It  may 
be  a  weed  instead  of  a  fish  that,  after  all  my  labor,  I 
may  at  last  pull  up." 

He  had  long  suspected,  as  we  have  said,  that  induction 
should  occur,  and  he  had  tried  currents  of  different 
strength,  but  without  result.  One  day  he  noticed  that, 
though  he  could  not  produce  a  permanent  induced  cur- 
rent, whenever  the  primary  current  started  or  stopped, 
there  was  a  movement  of  the  galvanometer  connected 
with  the  secondary  circuit,  though  the  galvanometer 
remained  at  zero  so  long  as  the  primary  current  flowed 
steadily.  From  this  he  proceeded  to  the  demonstration 
that  a  bar  magnet  suddenly  thrust  into  a  helix  of  copper 
wire  produced  the  same  effect  on  the  galvanometer,  and 
evidently  induced  a  transient  current.  When  the  mag- 
net was  withdrawn,  the  galvanometer  needle  swung 
in  the  opposite  direction,  showing  another  current,  so 
that  electrical  currents  were  evidently  induced  by  the 
relative  motions  of  a  magnet  and  a  conductor.  He 
continued  his  experiments  in  many  different  forms,  and 
in  the  short  space  of  a  little  more  than  a  week,  once 
the  first  definite  hint  was  obtained,  succeeded  in  so 
completely  finding  out  the  phenomena  of  electro-mag- 
netic induction  that  scarcely  more  than  practical  appli- 
cations in  this  subject  were  left  for  his  successors. 

Faraday's  explanation  of  the  induction  of  currents  in 


FARADAY  31S 

the  secondary  circuit  was  probably  quite  as  important  a 
contribution  to  science  as  the  series  of  experiments  by 
which  he  demonstrated  the  occurrence  of  induced  cur- 
rents. His  mind  was  not  of  the  order  that  would  accept 
action  at  a  distance ;  that  is,  without  some  conducting 
medium  through  which  the  action  took  place.  The  old 
aphorism  of  the  scholastics,  ''actio  in  distans  repugnat'* 
—action  at  a  distance,  that  is,  without  a  medium  inter- 
vening, is  absurd— would  have  appealed  to  him  as  a 
basic  truth.  The  explanation  that  he  outlined  for  in- 
duced currents  was  based  on  the  lines  of  magnetic 
force,  which  he  had  so  often  delineated  by  means  of 
iron  filings.  It  was  a  favorite  occupation  of  his,  at  mo- 
ments of  comparative  leisure,  to  make  varied  pictures 
in  iron  filings  of  magnetic  fields  as  they  were  exhibited 
under  the  influence  of  different  combinations  of  mag- 
nets. He  strewed  iron  filings  over  "gum  paper,"  and 
then  when  the  filings  had  arranged  themselves  in  certain 
definite  lines,  he  threw  a  jet  of  steam  on  the  paper,  which 
melted  the  gum  and  fixed  the  filings  in  position.  He  ex- 
plained electrical  action  as  the  transmission  of  force 
along  such  lines  as  these,  and  he  thought  the  whole 
electric  field  was  filled  with  them. 

Probably  the  best  summary  of  Faraday's  work  on  in- 
duction and  its  significance  has  been  given  us  by  Clerk 
Maxwell,  in  his  article  on  Faraday,  in  the  ninth  edi- 
tion of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  Maxwell,  above  all  men  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, was  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the  meaning  of 
Faraday's  work.  He  was  not  the  sort  of  a  man  to  say 
things  in  a  panegyric  mood,  and  his  article  on  Faraday 
is  indeed  a  model  of  well-considered  judgment  and 
critical  illumination.    Summing  up  the  significance  not 


314  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

only  of  Faraday's  great  discovery  of  induction,  but  also 
his  theory  in  explanation  of  that  discovery,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  his  (Faraday's)  opinion  is  the 
nearest  approach  to  truth  that  has  been  advanced  in  this 
much-discussed  subject. 

' '  After  nearly  half  a  century  of  labor  of  this  kind,  we 
may  say  that,  though  the  practical  applications  of  Fara- 
day's great  discovery  have  increased  and  are  increasing 
in  number  and  value  every  year,  no  exception  to  the 
statement  of  these  laws  as  given  by  Faraday  has  been 
discovered  ;  no  new  law  has  been  added  to  them  ;  and 
Faraday's  original  statement  remains  to  this  day  the 
only  one  which  asserts  no  more  than  can  be  verified  by 
experiment,  and  the  only  one  by  which  the  theory  of 
the  phenomena  can  be  expressed  in  a  manner  which  is 
actually  and  numerically  accurate,  and  at  the  same  time 
within  the  range  of  elementary  methods  of  exposition." 

With  what  eminent  care  and  absolute  truth  Faraday's 
conclusions  were  reached  may  be  judged  from  some 
further  expressions  of  Clerk  Maxwell's  in  the  article  just 
quoted,  with  regard  to  the  attitude  of  certain  mathe- 
maticians toward  Faraday's  work.  In  this  matter, 
Clerk  Maxwell,  in  talking  on  a  theme  that  he  had  made 
especially  his  own,  and  in  which  his  opinion  must  carry 
the  greatest  possible  weight,  said  : 

"Up  to  the  present  time,  the  mathematicians  who 
have  rejected  Faraday's  method  of  stating  his  law  as 
unworthy  of  the  precision  of  their  science,  have  never 
succeeded  in  devising  any  essentially  different  formula 
which  shall  fully  express  the  phenomena,  without  intro- 
ducing the  hypotheses  about  the  mutual  action  of  things 
which  have  no  physical  existence,  such  as  elements  of 


FARADAY  315 

currents,  which  flow  out  of  nothing,  then  along  the 
wire,  and  finally  sink  into  nothing  again." 

Faraday's  results  were  described  in  papers  afterwards 
incorporated  in  his  first  series  of  "Experimental  Re- 
;searches,"  which  were  read  before  the  Royal  Society, 
November  24th,  1841.  These  papers  probably  contain 
the  best  possible  proof  of  Faraday's  genius  as  an  experi- 
mentalist and  a  leader  in  scientific  observation.  Within 
a  few  months  after  his  first  successful  experiment,  he 
had  succeeded  in  bringing  to  perfection  the  whole  doc- 
trine of  induction  by  currents  and  magnets,  had  laid 
down  the  fundamental  ideas  which  were  to  constitute  the 
formal  basis  of  electro-magnetism  for  all  time.  Perhaps 
no  better  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  discovery  thus 
made  by  Faraday  can  be  given  than  will  be  found  in  Clerk 
Maxwell's  compendious  paragraph  on  this  subject,  in 
his  sketch  of  Faraday,  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica. 
It  may  be  said  that  no  one  in  all  the  nineteenth  century 
was  more  capable  of  appreciating  properly  the  value  of 
Faraday's  work  than  this  great  electrical  mathematician, 
who  laid  the  firm  foundation  of  mathematical  electric- 
ity during  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Clerk  Maxwell  says : 

"This  was  of  course  a  great  triumph,  and  nobody 
appreciated  this  fact  better  than  Faraday  himself,  who 
had  been  working  at  its  problems  for  many  years.  One 
of  the  first  problems  that  he  had  set  himself  in  his  note- 
book as  a  young  man,  was  *  to  convert  magnetism  into 
electricity, '  and  this  he  had  now  done.  Within  a  month 
of  the  time  that  his  first  successful  experiment  was 
formed,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  induction  currents  by 
means  of  the  earth's  magnetism.  Within  a  year  he  took 
the  further  immense  step  of  obtaining  a  spark  from  the 


316  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

induced  current.  This  would  ordinarily  have  seemed 
quite  impossible,  since  sparks  occur  only  if  the  electro- 
motive force  is  very  high,  and  it  was  very  low  in  his 
induced  currents.  He  found,  however,  that  if  the 
circuit  of  wire  in  which  a  current  was  flowing  is  broken 
while  the  current  is  passing,  a  httle  bridge  of  metallic 
vapor  is  formed,  across  which  the  spark  leaps.  The 
difficulty  with  the  experiment  was  to  break  the  circuit 
during  the  extremely  short  period  while  the  current  is 
flowing.  Faraday  succeeded  in  doing  this,  and  as  a 
result  obtained  the  first  germ  of  the  electric  light. 
When  he  demonstrated  this  experiment  by  a  very 
ingenious  apparatus  at  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  at  Oxford,  all  were  deeply  interested,  yet 
probably  no  one,  even  the  most  sanguine  of  the  scientists 
present,  thought  for  a  moment  that  they  saw  the  be- 
ginning of  a  far-reaching  revolution  of  all  the  lighting 
of  the  world." 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  Faraday's  discoveries, 
from  the  scientific  standpoint,  because  they  throw  so 
much  light  on  the  problems  of  all  the  related  phenomena 
of  magnetism,  heat,  light,  even  electricity,  were  those 
in  which  a  ray  of  polarized  light  was  used  as  a  means 
of  investigating  the  condition  of  transparent  bodies 
when  acted  on  by  electric  and  magnetic  forces.  Faraday 
himself,  when  he  was  just  thirty  years  of  age,  made  a 
note  in  his  commonplace  laboratory  book,  in  which  all 
his  observations  were  carefully  detailed,  that  serves  to 
show  how  much  this  subject  had  begun  to  interest  him 
thus  early  in  his  career.  He  mentions  that  he  had 
polarized  a  ray  of  lamp-light  by  reflection,  and  had 
made  various  experiments  to  ascertain  whether  any 
depolarizing  action  was  exerted  on  it  by  water  placed 


FARADAY  317 

between  the  poles  of  a  voltaic  battery  in  a  glass  cistern, 
or  by  various  fluids  which  were  decomposed  by  the 
voltaic  action  during  the  course  of  the  experiment. 
Besides  water,  the  fluids  used  were  weak  solutions  of 
sulphate  of  soda  and  strong  sulphuric  acid.  None  of 
them  had  any  effect  on  the  polarized  light,  either  dur- 
ing the  passage  of  the  voltaic  current  or  when  this  was 
shut  off.  No  particular  arrangement  of  particles  in 
reference  to  polarized  light  could  be  found  from  these 
observations. 

Such  a  note,  with  utter  failure  for  conclusion,  is 
■common  enough  in  Faraday's  note-book.  He  was  never 
•discouraged,  however,  by  failure  at  the  beginning. 
Once  a  subject  has  been  taken  up  seriously,  it  is  almost 
inevitable  that  further  observations  with  regard  to  it  will 
be  found  during  the  course  of  the  year.  Because  he 
had  asked  one  question  of  nature  and  had  not  obtained 
a  satisfactory  answer,  was  never  a  reason  why  he 
should  not  ask  further  questions  along  the  same  line  ; 
and,  above  all,  why  he  should  not  ask  the  same  ques- 
tion in  another  way.  After  having  tried  a  continuous 
current,  Faraday  next  experimented  on  the  effect  of 
making  and  breaking  the  circuit.  He  did  not  expect 
very  much  from  this,  but  he  hoped  that  under  circum- 
stances when  no  decomposition  would  ensue  as  the 
effect  of  the  current,  he  might  find  some  indication 
of  the  polarization.  It  was  nearly  twenty-five  years 
before  Faraday  succeeded  in  solving  the  problem  that  he 
had  thus  set  himself  as  a  young  man,  and  nearly  twenty 
years  more  were  to  pass  before  he  made  the  relation 
between  magnetism  and  light  the  subject  of  his  very 
last  experimental  work.  Nothing  discouraged  him. 
When  he  had  resolved  to  investigate   something,  he 


318  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

continued  to  make  his  experiments  over  and  over  again 
in  different  ways,  until  finally  he  got  an  answer  to  his. 
question  and  a  solution  to  the  problem. 

Indeed,  his  perseverance  in  anything  that  he  under- 
took was  a  striking  characteristic  of  the  man  and  one 
of  the  most  important  elements  in  his  success  in  life. 
His  tenacity  of  purpose  showed  itself  equally  in  little 
as  in  great  things.  Arranging  some  apparatus  one 
day  with  a  philosophical  instrument-maker,  he  let  fall 
on  the  floor  a  small  piece  of  glass.  He  made  several 
ineffectual  attempts  to  pick  it  up.  ' '  Never  mind, "  said 
his  companion,  " it  is  not  worth  the  trouble."  "  Well, 
but,  Murray,  I  don't  like  to  be  beaten  by  something 
that  I  have  once  tried  to  do." 

Faraday  was  sure  that  there  was  some  very  definite 
relation  between  electricity  and  light.  His  experiments, 
however,  did  not  enable  him  to  demonstrate  this  until 
nearly  fifteen  years  after  his  successful  experiment  on 
induction.  In  September,  1845,  he  placed  a  piece  of 
heavy  glass  made  of  silico-borate  of  lead  in  the  field  of 
a  magnet,  and  found  that,  when  a  beam  of  polarized 
light  was  transmitted  through  the  glass  in  the  direction 
of  the  lines  of  force,  there  was  a  rotation  of  the  plane 
of  polarization.  Later  experiments  showed  him  that  all 
transparent  solids  and  liquids  were  capable  of  producing^ 
this  rotation  in  greater  or  less  degree.  When  no  mag- 
net was  used  and  the  transparent  substance  was  placed 
within  a  coil  of  wire  through  which  an  electric  current 
was  flowing,  similar  effects  were  produced.  This  was 
the  demonstration  of  a  definite  relation  between  light 
and  electricity.  Later,  Faraday  found  that  magnets 
had  a  directive  action  upon  the  glass.  He  then  made 
experiments  upon  gases,  and  found  that  they  too  ex- 


FARADAY  319 

hibited  magnetic  phenomena,  and  that,  indeed,  the 
diurnal  variations  of  the  compass-needle  were  due  to 
the  sun's  heat  diminishing  the  magnetic  permeability 
of  the  oxygen  of  the  air.  Further  experiments  with 
gases  showed  him  that  nitrogen  was  absolutely  neutral 
in  its  reaction. 

It  might  have  been  expected,  from  Faraday's  early 
interest  in  chemistry,  that  when  he  turned  to  electricity 
and  made  discoveries  in  that  field  of  research,  he  would 
naturally  take  up  the  problem  of  tracing  the  laws  and 
demonstrating  the  relationships  of  the  points  of  contact 
of  the  two  great  sciences.  After  his  completion,  then, 
of  the  subject  of  induction,  Faraday  devoted  himself  to 
the  experimental  proof  of  the  identity  of  frictional  and 
voltaic  electricity,  and  to  showing  that  chemistry  and 
physics  have  a  common  ground.  His  inductive  electrical 
machine  could  deflect  a  magnet  and  decompose  iodide 
of  potash.  With  his  tendency  to  measure  things,  he 
determined  that  the  amount  of  electricity  required 
to  decompose  a  grain  of  water  was  equal  to  800,000 
charges  of  his  large  battery  of  Ley  den  jars.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  current  from  a  frictional  machine  de- 
flected the  needle  of  his  galvonometer  in  the  same  way 
as  the  induced  current  of  electricity,  so  that  all  the 
elements  of  the  proof  of  the  identity  of  the  two  forms 
of  phenomena  were  now  in  his  hands. 

That  he  should  have  proceeded  to  the  demonstration 
of  the  laws  of  electrolysis,  was  the  next  most  natural 
result.  He  showed  that  the  amount  of  any  compound 
decomposed  by  the  electric  current  is  exactly  proportional 
to  the  whole  quantity  of  electricity  which  has  passed 
through  the  electrolyte.  Different  substances  are  var- 
iously refractory  to  dissolution  under  the  influence  of 


.^20  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  electric  current,  but  each  one  always  acts  in  the 
same  way  and  requires  the  same  amount  of  current. 
Substances  that  are  closely  related  to  one  another  chem- 
ically, are  also  related  to  one  another  in  the  amount  of 
electricity  required  to  bring  about  decomposition  of 
their  various  compounds.  He  showed,  of  course,  that 
there  are  differences  of  electrical  relationship  that  make 
the  results  produced  in  the  decomposition  of  various 
compounds  very  different.  Polarization,  for  instance, 
sets  in  to  a  much  greater  degree  in  the  decomposition 
of  some  substances  than  of  others.  One  consequence  is 
that  the  resistance  to  the  passage  of  the  electric  current 
differs  markedly,  and  the  opposing  electromotive  force 
will  stop  the  current  or  hamper  its  effects  in  many 
cases,  so  that,  until  after  actual  experiment,  the  quan- 
titative effect  of  the  passage  of  the  electric  current 
through  a  solution  cannot  be  determined. 

Faraday's  opinions  as  to  the  significance  of  electricity 
in  the  animal  economy  are  very  interesting  because  of 
his  profound  knowledge  of  electrical  phenomena  and 
their  place  in  nature.  It  is  all  the  more  interesting  be- 
cause it  is  so  simple,  and  most  scientists  would  be  apt 
to  say  that  its  very  simplicity  is  a  very  taking  argument 
for  its  truth.  "As  living  creatures  produce  heat,  and  a 
heat  certainly  identical  with  that  of  our  hearths,  why 
should  they  not  produce  electricity  also,  and  an  electric- 
ity in  like  manner  identical  with  that  of  our  machines? 
Like  heat,  like  chemical  action,  electricity  is  an  imple- 
ment of  life,  and  nothing  more." 

While  Faraday  often  occupied  himself  with  subjects 
connected  with  matter  and  force  that  are  likely  to 
remain  mysteries  for  long  after  his  time,  and  often  had 
thoughts  to  express  with  regard  to  the  nature  of  atoms 


FARADAY  321 

and  of  imponderable  agents,  whatever  he  had  to  say 
about  these  subjects  was  not  vague  and  speculative, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  was  concrete  and  usually  of  such  a 
practical  character  as  to  add  something  new  to  our 
knowledge  of  them.  Few  men  have  ever  succeeded  in 
getting  closer  to  the  mysteries  that  underlie  natural 
phenomena  than  Faraday ;  yet  no  one  was  ever  less 
carried  away  into  vague  theoretic  speculations  with 
regard  to  them,  nor  tempted  to  think  that  because  he 
knew  much  more  than  most  other  men  with  regard 
to  complex  natural  problems,  that  therefore  he  knew 
enough  to  be  able  to  solve  the  mysteries  that  existed  all 
around  him.  He  had  none  at  all  of  what  would  ordi- 
narily be  called  pride  of  intellect,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  the  humility  of  the  true  scientist.  Knowing 
so  much  only  made  him  realize  more  poignantly  how 
much  he  was  ignorant  of.  With  regard  to  his  specula- 
tions on  matter  and  force  and  the  imponderables,  Helm- 
holtz,  the  great  German  physicist,  once  summed  up 
Faraday's  contributions  very  succinctly  in  a  way  to 
show  the  practical  nature  of  Faraday's  intellect.  He 
said: 

"It  is  these  things  that  Faraday  in  his  mature  works 
ever  seeks  to  purify  more  and  more  from  everything 
that  is  theoretical  and  is  not  the  direct  and  simple 
expression  of  the  fact.  For  instance,  he  contended 
against  the  action  of  forces  at  a  distance,  and  the 
adoption  of  two  electrical  and  two  magnetic  fluids,  as 
well  as  all  hypotheses  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  con- 
servation of  force,  which  he  early  foresaw,  though  he 
misunderstood  it  in  its  scientific  expression.  And  it  is 
just  in  this  direction  that  he  exercised  the  most  unmis- 


322  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

takable  influence,  first  of  all,  on  the  English  physicist^ 
and  then  on  the  physicists  of  all  the  world." 

Inventors  and  promoters  of  useful  inventions,  fre- 
quently benefited  by  the  advice  of  Faraday  or  by  his 
general  help.  A  remarkable  instance  of  this  was  told 
by  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field.  At  the  commencement  of  his 
great  enterprise,  when  he  wished  to  unite  the  Old  and 
the  New  World  by  the  telegraphic  cable,  he  sought  the 
advice  of  the  great  electrician,  and  Faraday  told  him 
that  he  doubted  the  possibility  of  getting  a  message 
across  the  Atlantic.  Mr.  Field  saw  that  this  fatal  ob- 
jection must  be  settled  at  once,  and  begged  Faraday 
to  make  the  necessary  experiments,  offering  to  pay  him 
properly  for  his  services.  The  philosopher,  however, 
declined  all  remuneration,  but  worked  away  at  the 
question,  and  presently  reported  to  Mr.  Field :  "It  can 
be  done ;  but  you  will  not  get  an  instantaneous  mes- 
sage." "How  long  will  it  take?"  was  the  inquiry. 
"Oh!  perhaps  a  second."  "Well,  that's  quick  enough 
for  me,"  was  the  conclusion  of  the  American  ;  and  the 
enterprise  was  proceeded  with. 

Faraday  was  far  from  being  a  mere  laboratory  stu- 
dent ;  he  was  much  more  even  than  a  great  teacher  of 
physics.  He  was  a  magnificent  popular  lecturer,  and 
did  an  incalculable  amount  to  bring  physics  to  the  atten- 
tion and  the  serious  interest  of  his  generation.  A  con- 
temporary has  described  one  of  his  lectures  at  the  Royal 
.  Institution  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  us  some  idea,  even 
at  this  distant  date,  of  Faraday's  power  over  his  audi- 
ience,  of  his  own  wonderful  interest  in  the  subject  and 
his  marvelous  ability  to  communicate  that  interest  to 
others.  It  was  of  the  very  nature  of  the  man  that  he 
should  not  be  cold  and  formal,  for  he  was  not  a  man  of 


F*ARADAY  323 

the  head  alone,  but,  above  all,  a  man  whose  heart  and 
affections  were  greatly  developed,  and  he  had  powers 
of  enthusiasm  that  placed  him  high  among  the  artistic 
spirits  of  mankind.  Our  American  poet,  Stedman,  once 
declared  that  the  intellectual  quality  of  the  poet,  the 
creator  in  the  realm  of  thought,  and  of  the  scientist,  the 
original  worker  in  the  domain  of  science,  differed  but 
little  from  one  another,  and  must  be  considered  as  col- 
lateral expressions  of  the  same  form  of  intellectual 
genius.  With  this  in  mind,  his  contemporary's  enthu- 
siastic description  of  his  lectures  will  not  seem  over- 
drawn. 

"It  was  an  irresistible  eloquence,  which  compelled 
attention  and  insisted  upon  sympathy.  It  waked  the 
young  from  their  visions,  and  the  old  from  their  dreams. 
There  was  a  gleaming  in  his  eyes  which  no  painter 
could  copy,  and  which  no  poet  could  describe.  Their 
radiance  seemed  to  send  a  strange  light  into  the  very 
heart  of  his  congregation ;  and  when  he  spoke,  it  was 
felt  that  the  stir  of  his  voice  and  the  fervor  of  his  words 
could  belong  only  to  the  owner  of  those  kindling  eyes. 
His  thought  was  rapid,  and  made  itself  a  way  in  new 
phrases,  if  it  found  none  ready  made,  as  the  mountain- 
eer cuts  steps  in  the  most  hazardous  ascent  with  his 
own  axe.  His  enthusiasm  sometimes  carried  him  to  the 
point  of  ecstasy." 

Faraday's  habit  of  testing  opinions  by  experiment, 
and  the  frequent  disillusions  which  he  encountered  with 
regard  to  things  of  which  he  thought  he  knew  some- 
thing definite,  served  to  make  him  extremely  careful  as 
regards  expressions  of  opinion.  Some  of  his  thoughts 
on  this  subject  are  worth  while  recalling  because  they 
remain  perennially  true,  and  anyone  in  any  generation 


324  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

will  find  that,  as  his  experience  grows,  he  gets  more 
and  more  into  this  Faraday  mood  of  doubting  his  own 
opinion  and  listening  with  more  readiness  to  that  of 
others.  As  a  rule,  this  is  said  not  to  be  true  of  those 
who  are  in  advancing  years,  but  the  greater  minds 
among  the  older  men  do  not  get  set  in  their  ways. 
Flourens  might  have  said  that  because  of  constant 
exercise  the  connective  tissue  in  the  brains  of  such  men 
does  not  form  to  the  same  extent  as  in  others,  and  does 
not  make  them  case-hardened.  As  a  consequence,  they 
retain  far  on  in  years  their  sympathy  for  others'  opin- 
ions and  their  openness  of  mind.  Comparatively,  they 
are  so  few,  however,  that  this  expression  of  Faraday's 
becomes  a  striking  commentary  on  his  large-mindedness. 

"For  proper  self-education,  it  is  necessary  that  a  man 
examine  himself,  and  that  not  carelessly  either.  ...  A 
first  result  of  this  habit  of  mind  will  be  an  internal 
conviction  of  ignorance  in  many  things  respecting  which 
his  neighbors  are  taught,  and  that  his  opinions  and 
conclusions  on  such  matters  ought  to  be  advanced  with 
reservation.  A  mind  so  disciplined  will  be  open  to 
correction  upon  good  grounds  in  all  things,  even  in  those 
it  is  best  acquainted  with,  and  should  familiarize  itself 
with  the  idea  of  such  being  the  case." 

Perhaps  it  is  even  more  interesting,  because  more 
humanly  sympathetic,  to  find  that  Faraday  distrusted 
his  opinions  of  people  even  more  than  his  opinions  of 
things,  and  that  he  himself  tried  to  be  very  slow  to 
take  offence  at  what  was  said  to  him,  and  counselled 
greatest  discretion'  to  others  in  judging  of  the  signif- 
icance of  supposed  slights. 

' '  Let  me,  as  an  old  man  who  ought  by  this  time  to 
have  profited  by  experience,    say  that  when    I  was 


FARADAY  325 

younger,  I  found  I  often  misinterpreted  the  intentions 
of  people,  and  found  that  they  did  not  mean  what  at 
the  time  I  supposed  they  meant ;  and  further,  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  it  was  better  to  be  a  little  dull  of  appre- 
hension when  phrases  seemed  to  imply  pique  and  quick 
in  perception,  when,  on  the  contrary,  they  seemed  to 
imply  kindly  feeling.  The  real  truth  never  fails  ulti- 
mately to  appear,  and  opposing  parties,  if  wrong,  are 
sooner  convinced  when  replied  to  forbearingly  than 
when  overwhelmed." 

Few  lives  have  been  happier  than  that  of  Faraday. 
He  gave  up  the  ordinary  ambition  of  men  to  make  what 
is  called  a  successful  career  of  money-making,  and 
constantly  guarded  himself  from  slipping  back,  as  so 
many  do,  to  the  ruin  of  their  original  purpose.  He 
lived  a  long  life  in  peace,  occupied  with  work  that  he 
liked  above  all  things,  and  surely  serves  as  the  best 
illustration  of  the  maxim :  ' '  Blessed  is  the  man  who 
has  found  his  work."  Work  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
primal  curses  laid  upon  man  ;  but  if,  when  the  Creator 
would  ban  it  turns  to  blessing  in  the  way  that  work  has 
done,  then  may  one  well  ask  what  will  His  blessings 
prove.  Faraday  even  had  what  is  rarer  in  life  than 
happiness,  the  consciousness  of  his  happiness.  Usually 
it  is  so  elusive  that  it  escapes  reflection.  At  the  close 
of  his  career,  when  he  wrote,  in  1861,  to  the  managers 
of  the  Royal  Institution  resigning  most  of  his  duties, 
he  expressed  this  feeling  very  beautifully,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  simply  and  clearly  as  to  make  his  letter  of 
resignation  a  precious  bit  of  literature. 

"I  entered  the  Royal  Institution  in  March,  1813, 
nearly  forty-nine  years  ago,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
a  comparatively  short  period,  during  which  I  was  abroad 


326  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

on  the  continent  with  Sir  H.  Davy,  I  have  been  with 
you  ever  since.  During  that  time  I  have  been  most 
happy  in  your  kindness,  and  in  the  fostering  care  which 
the  Royal  Institution  has  bestowed  upon  me.  Thank 
God,  first,  for  all  His  gifts  !  I  have  next  to  thank  you 
and  your  predecessors  for  the  unswerving  encourage- 
ment and  support  which  you  have  given  me  during  that 
period.  My  hf  e  has  been  a  happy  one,  and  all  I  desired. 
During  its  progress,  I  have  tried  to  make  a  fitting  return 
for  it  to  the  Royal  Institution,  and  through  it  to  science. 
But  the  progress  of  years  (now  amounting  in  number 
to  three-score  and  ten)  having  brought  forth,  first,  the 
period  of  development,  and  then  that  of  maturity,  has 
ultimately  produced  for  me  that  of  gentle  decay.  This 
has  taken  place  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  even- 
ing of  life  a  blessing ;  for,  while  increasing  physical 
weakness  occurs,  a  full  share  of  health,  free  from  pain, 
is  granted  with  it ;  and  while  memory  and  certain  other 
faculties  of  the  mind  diminish,  my  good  spirits  and 
cheerfulness  do  not  diminish  with  them." 

For  nearly  five  years  after  he  had  given  up  to  a  great 
degree  his  work  at  the  Royal  Institution,  he  faced 
death,  not  with  the  equanimity  of  the  stoic,  but  with 
the  peaceful  happiness  of  the  believer  in  Providence 
and  a  hereafter.  Even  the  loss  of  his  memory,  dear  as 
it  must  have  been  to  a  man  who  had  spent  all  his  life  in 
storing  it  with  the  great  facts  of  science,  does  not  seem 
seriously  to  have  disturbed  him.  He  realized  the  neces- 
sity for  patience,  and  took  the  lesson  of  its  necessity  to 
heart,  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in  it.  Once  when 
calling  on  his  friend,  the  distinguished  scientist.  Barlow, 
who  had  for  a  lifetime  almost  worked  beside  him  at  the 
Royal  Institution,   but  who  was  now  suffering  from 


FARADAY  327 

paralysis,  he  said:  "Barlow,  you  and  I  are  waiting; 
that  is  what  we  have  to  do  now ;  and  we  must  try  to  do 
it  patiently.  '*  When  the  full  realization  that  his  powers 
were  leaving  him  first  came  to  him,  he  wrote  to  his 
niece  what  he  thought  ought  to  be  the  feelings  of  the 
believer  in  Providence  toward  death,  and  his  letter 
shows  how  thoroughly  he  had  imbibed  the  great  lessons 
of  Christianity,  and  how  much  of  consolation  his  faith 
was  to  him  in  this  darkest  hour  before  the  dawn  of  that 
other  life,  in  which  he  had  as  implicit  confidence  as  in 
any  of  the  great  scientific  principles  that  he  had  demon- 
strated by  experiment.    He  wrote : 

"  I  cannot  think  that  death  has,  to  the  Christian,  any- 
thing in  it  that  should  make  it  a  rare,  or  other  than  a 
constant  thought.  Out  of  the  thought  of  death  comes 
the  view  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  as  out  of  the 
view  of  sin  (that  true  and  real  view  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  alone  can  give  to  man)  comes  the  glorious  Hope. 
....  My  worldly  faculties  are  slipping  away  day  by 
day.  Happy  is  it  for  all  of  us,  that  the  true  good  lies 
not  in  them.  As  they  ebb,  may  they  leave  us  as  little 
children,  trusting  in  the  Father  of  Mercies  and  accept- 
ing His  unspeakable  gift. ' '  And  when  the  dark  shadow 
was  creeping  over  him,  he  wrote  to  the  Comte  de  Paris  : 
"I  bow  before  Him  who  is  the  Lord  of  all,  and  hope  to 
be  kept  waiting  patiently  for  His  time  and  mode  of  re- 
leasing me,  according  to  His  divine  word  and  the  great 
and  precious  promises  whereby  His  people  are  made 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature." 

Probably  the  feature  of  the  careers  of  Darwin  and 
Spencer  which  are  saddest  for  their  adherents,  and 
which  made  those  who  refused  to  be  recognized  as 
-among  their  followers  appreciate  their  one-sidedness,  is 


328  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

the  confession  by  both  of  them,  that  they  had  lost  their 
interest  in  poetry  and  even  in  hterature  of  all  kinds, 
and  toward  the  end  of  their  lives  particularly  lost  en- 
tirely their  appreciation  of  things  artistic.  As  might 
be  expected  from  what  we  know  of  Faraday,  this  was 
not  at  all  the  case  with  him ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  down 
to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  retained  all  his  youthful  ad- 
miration for  the  poets.  His  niece  tells  the  story  of 
hearing  him  often  read  poetry,  and  of  how  much  he 
used  to  be  affected  by  his  favorite  poems.  In  one  of 
her  letters  she  says  : 

"But  of  all  things,  I  used  to  like  to  hear  him  read 
'Childe  Harold';  and  never  shall  I  forget  the  way  in 
which  he  read  the  description  of  the  storm  on  Lake 
Leman.  He  took  great  pleasure  in  Bryon,  and  Cole- 
ridge's 'Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc'  delighted  him.  When 
anything  touched  his  feelings  as  he  read— and  it  hap- 
pened not  infrequently— he  would  show  it  not  only  in 
his  voice,  but  by  tears  in  his  eyes  also." 

As  a  young  man,  he  was  so  completely  taken  up  with 
the  scientific  studies  that  he  could  not  think  that  he 
would  ever  find  time  for  the  ordinary  interests  of  life. 
Especially  was  this  true  with  regard  to  the  question  of 
marriage.  He  felt  that  he  would  never  marry,  and  he 
seems  rather  to  have  pitied  those,  the  weakness  of 
whose  nature  pushed  them  on  to  assume  many  duties  in 
life  and  look  for  merely  selfish  happiness.  It  was  as  a 
very  young  man  that  he  wrote  : 

"Whatis't  that  comes  in  false,  deceitful  guise, 
Making  dull  fools  of  those  that  'fore  were  wise? 

'TisLove." 

When  the  time  came,  however,  he  altered  this  opinion.- 


FARADAY  32& 

Among  the  elders  of  the  Church  which  he  attended 
in  London  was  a  Mr.  Barnard,  a  silversmith.  Faraday 
occasionally  spent  an  evening  at  his  house,  and  inci- 
dentally met  his  daughter  Sarah.  He  had  not  met  her 
many  times  before  his  ideas  as  to  what  love  might  mean 
in  life  were  completely  changed,  and  not  long  after 
making  her  acquaintance  he  wrote  her  a  letter,  in 
which  he  recants  and  asks  her  to  be  more  than  a  friend. 
His  letter  is  rather  interesting  as  love  letters  go. 

"You  know  me  as  well  or  better  than  I  do  myself. 
You  know  my  former  prejudices  and  my  present 
thoughts ;  you  know  my  weaknesses,  my  vanity,  my 
whole  mind  ;  you  have  converted  me  from  one  erroneous 
way  ;  let  me  hope  that  you  will  attempt  to  correct  what 

others  are  wrong Again  and  again  I  attempt  to 

say  what  I  feel,  but  I  cannot.  Let  me,  however,  claim 
not  to  be  the  selfish  being  that  wishes  to  bend  his  affec- 
tions for  his  own  sake  only.  In  whatever  way  I  can 
best  minister  to  your  happiness,  either  by  assiduity  or 
by  absence,  it  shall  be  done.  Do  not  injure  me  by 
withdrawing  your  friendship,  or  punish  me  for  aiming 
to  be  more  than  a  friend  by  making  me  less  ;  and  if  you 
cannot  grant  me  more,  leave  me  what  I  possess  but 
hear  me." 

In  spite  of  the  sincere  feeling  of  this  letter,  the  lady^ 
hesitated.  For  a  time  she  left  London,  apparently  in 
order  to  give  herself  a  breathing  spell  from  the  ardor 
of  his  suit.  In  spite  of  his  deep  interest  in  science, 
Faraday  followed  her  to  the  seacoast,  and  after  they 
had  wandered  together  for  several  days  at  Margate  and 
Dover,  where  Shakespeare's  Cliff  was  an  especial  haunt 
of  theirs,  the  lady  relented.  Faraday  returned  to  Lon- 
don bubbling  over  with  happiness.    He  was  not  quite 


330  MAKERS   OF  ELECTRICITY 

thirty  when  they  were  married,  and  at  the  time  his 
salary  did  not  amount  to  more  than  a  thousand  dollars  a 
year.     It  was  distinctly  not  a  marriage  of  reason. 

Most  of  the  happiness  of  his  life  came  to  him  from 
his  marriage.  Many  years  afterward,  he  called  it  "An 
event  which,  more  than  any  other,  contributed  to  my 
happiness  and  healthful  state  of  mind."  With  years, 
this  feeling  only  deepened  and  strengthened.  In  the 
midst  of  his  scientific  triumphs,  his  first  thought  was 
always  of  her.  When  his  attendance  at  scientific  con- 
gresses took  him  away  from  her,  his  letters  were  fre- 
quent, and  always  expressive  of  his  longing  to  be  with 
her.  One  of  his  biographers  has  said  "that  doubtless 
at  any  time  between  their  marriage  and  his  final  ill- 
ness, he  might  have  written  to  her  as  he  did  from  Bir- 
mingham, at  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  British 
Association  there." 

"  After  all,  there  is  no  pleasure  like  the  tranquil  pleas- 
ure of  home  ;  and  here,  the  moment  I  leave  the  table,  I 
wish  I  were  with  you  in  quiet.  Oh!  what  happiness 
is  ours !  My  runs  into  the  world  in  this  way  only  serve 
to  make  me  esteem  that  happiness  the  more." 

Faraday  had  probably  lost  more  illusions  than  most 
men,  and  came  to  the  true  appreciation  of  things  as 
they  are.  In  spite  of  his  life-long  study,  he  had  no 
illusions  with  regard  to  the  education  of  the  intellect 
merely,  or  the  possession  of  superior  intellectual 
faculties  as  moral  factors.  His  keen  observation  of 
men  had  made  any  such  mistake  as  that  impossible. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  had  often  noted  that  the  ignor- 
ant, or  at  least  those  lacking  education,  were  very  ad- 
mirable in  conduct  and  in  principle,  and  so  we  have  his 
suggestive  testimony : 


FARADAY  331 

"I  should  be  glad  to  think  that  high  mental  powers 
insured  something  like  a  high  moral  sense,  but  have 
often  been  grieved  to  see  the  contrary ;  as  also,  on  the 
other  hand,  my  spirit  has  been  cheered  by  observing  in 
some  lowly  and  uninstructed  creature  such  a  healthful 
and  honorable  and  dignified  mind  as  made  one  in  love 
with  human  nature.  When  that  which  is  good  mentally 
and  morally  meet  in  one  being,  that  that  being  is  more 
fitted  to  work  out  and  manifest  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
creation,  I  fully  admit." 

Faraday's  very  definite  expression  of  what  he  con- 
,  siders  must  be  the  position  of  the  man  of  science  with 
regard  to  a  hereafter  and  the  existence  of  God,  is  worth 
while  recalling  here,  because  it  was  such  a  modest  yet 
forceful  presentation  of  the  attitude  of  mind  that  every 
thinking  modern  scientist  must  occupy  in  this  matter, 
the  attitude  which  all  of  Faraday's  great  fellow- workers 
in  the  domain  of  electricity  also  occupy.  It  is  indeed 
the  position  that  has  been  assumed  by  all  the  great 
scientists  who  bowed  humbly  to  faith,  though  so  many 
lesser  lights  have  found  this  apparently  impossible.  At 
a  lecture  given  in  1854  at  the  Royal  Institution,  Faraday 
said  :  "High  as  man  is  placed  above  the  creatures 
around  him,  there  is  a  higher  and  far  more  exalted 
position  within  his  view ;  and  the  ways  are  infinite  in 
which  he  occupies  his  thoughts  about  the  fears,  or 
hopes,  or  expectations  of  a  future  life.  I  believe  that 
the  truth  of  that  future  cannot  be  brought  to  his  knowl- 
edge by  any  exertion  of  his  mental  powers,  however 
exalted  they  may  be  ;  that  it  is  made  known  to  him  by 
other  teaching  than  his  own,  and  is  received  through 
simple  belief  of  the  testimony  given  ....  Yet  even  in 
«earthly  matters,  I  believe  that  '  the  invisible  things  of 


332  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,, 
being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,  even 
His  eternal  power  and  godhead ' ;  and  I  have  never  seen 
anything  incompatible  between  those  things  of  man 
which  can  be  known  by  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  within 
him,  and  those  higher  things  concerning  his  future 
which  he  cannot  know  by  that  spirit." 

Elsewhere  he  had  said :  * '  When  I  consider  the  mul- 
titude of  associate  forces  which  are  diffused  through 
nature  ;  when  I  think  of  that  calm  and  tranquil  balanc- 
ing of  their  energies  which  enables  elements,  most 
powerful  in  themselves,  most  destructive  to  the  world's 
creatures  and  economy,  to  dwell  associated  together  and 
be  made  subservient  to  the  wants  of  creation,  I  rise 
from  the  contemplation  more  than  ever  impressed  with 
the  wisdom,  the  beneficence,  and  grandeur  beyond  our 
language  to  express,  of  the  Great  Disposer  of  all ! " 

Dr.  Gladstone,  in  his  Life  of  Faraday,  which  we  have 
so  often  put  into  requisition,  has  given  in  one  striking 
paragraph  a  description  of  the  passing  of  Faraday,  that 
in  its  simplicity  is  worthy  of  the  great  man  whom  it  so 
well  represents.  It  is  so  different  from  what  is  ordin- 
arily supposed  to  be  the  attitude  of  the  scientist  towards 
death,  that  when  by  contrast  we  recall  that  Faraday  is 
acknowledged  to  be  the  greatest  experimental  scientist 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  man  of  his  generation 
most  honored  by  scientific  societies  at  home  and  abroad 
—his  honorary  memberships  numbered  nearly  one  hun- 
dred—it must  be  considered  as  a  very  curious  contradic- 
tion of  what  is  the  usual  impression  in  this  matter  : 
' '  When  his  faculties  were  fading  fast,  he  would  sit  long 
at  the  western  window,  watching  the  glories  of  the  sun- 
set ;  and  one  day,  when  his  wife  drew  his  attention  to  a 


FARADAY  333 

^beautiful  rainbow  that  then  spanned  the  sky,  he  looked 
beyond  the  falling  shower  and  the  many-colored  arch 
and  observed,  *  He  hath  set  His  testimony  in  the  heav- 
ens. '  On  August  25th,  1867,  quietly,  almost  impercep- 
tibly, came  the  release.  There  was  a  philosopher  less  on 
earth,  and  a  saint  more  in  heaven." 

When  we  come  to  the  end  of  the  life  of  this  greatest 
of  experimentalists,  the  most  striking  remembrance  is 
that  of  the  supreme  original  genius  of  this  great  dis- 
coverer in  electricity,  whose  work  was  such  a  stimulus 
to  others,  whose  conclusions  were  to  prove  the  basis  for 
so  much  of  the  work  of  his  contemporaries  and  his  suc- 
'<jessors  in  electrical  investigation,  and  whose  place  in 
the  world  of  science  is  assured  beside  such  men  as 
Newton  and  Kepler  and  Harvey  and  the  other  great 
pioneers  in  science.  There  is  no  doubt  at  all,  however, 
that  our  heartiest  feelings  are  aroused  by  the  picture  of 
the  wonderfully  rounded  existence  of  the  great  scientist, 
his  pervasive  humanity,  his  largeness  of  soul  and  sym- 
pathy, his  understanding  of  men  in  their  ways  through 
his  own  complete  knowledge  of  himself,  that  is  so  strik- 
ingly displayed.  We  feel  sure  that  Faraday  himself 
would  have  cared  less  for  his  fame  as  a  great  scientist 
than  for  the  summary  of  his  life  which  has  been  given 
us  by  his  friend,  Bence  Jones,  who  said :  ' '  His  was  a 
life-long  strife,  to  seek  and  say  that  which  he  thought 
was  true  and  to  do  that  which  he  thought  was  kind." 


334  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


CHAPTER  XL 

Clerk  Maxwell. 

Natural  science  in  every  department  developed  very 
wonderfully  from  its  experimental  side  during  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Facts  and  observations 
accumulated  to  such  an  amount  that,  shortly  after  the 
middle  of  the  century,  there  was  felt  the  need  of  a 
great  mathematical  genius  to  bring  the  results  of  experi- 
ment into  their  proper  places  in  the  great  body  of 
applied  and  theoretic  science.  Nearly  always  such  a 
demand  meets  with  adequate  response  in  its  own  due 
time.  Clerk  Maxwell  came  at  this  most  opportune  mo- 
ment for  science.  No  (mathematical  problem  was  too 
abstruse  or  difficult  for  him,  and  whatever  he  took  up 
seriously  he  always  illuminated,  and  usually  solved  its 
problems  as  completely  as  can  be  hoped  for  in  the 
present  state  of  scientific  knowledge.  It  was  particu- 
larly in  electricity  that  his  mathematical  faculty  proved 
of  the  greatest  value,  and  that  he  found  the  abundant 
opportunities  of  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  take 
advantage. 

Clerk  Maxwell's  theory  of  electricity,  as  developed  in; 
his  classic  treatise  on  "Electricity  and  Magnetism,"  is 
well  called  by  Prof.  Peter  Guthrie  Tait,  ' '  One  of  the  most 
splendid  monuments  ever  raised  by  the  genius  of  a 
single  individual."  This  book  became  the  guide  and 
companion  of  more  physical  scientists  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  than  perhaps  any  other  written  in  that 


••<».vv>i    ^,s%»< 


JAMES  CLERK  MAXWELL 


CLERK  MAXWELL  335 

period.  It  was  not  alone  in  England  or  in  English- 
speaking  countries  that  it  was  accepted  as  an  authority 
and  constantly  referred  to,  but  everywhere  throughout 
the  world  of  science.  Not  to  know  it,  was  to  argue 
that  a  man  knew  nothing  of  the  prof ounder  truths  of 
electrical  science  and  was  only  a  seeker  after  superficial 
information.  Clerk  Maxwell  was  known  and  esteemed 
by  all  the  great  physical  scientists  of  the  world.  His 
name  is  less  widely  known  than  that  of  most  of  the 
great  discoverers  in  electricity,  because  mathematical 
achievement  always  has  less  popular  attraction ;  but 
he  deserves  to  be  known  by  all  who  are  interested  in 
science,  not  only  because  of  his  magnificent  contribu- 
tions to  mathematical  electricity,  but  quite  as  much  for 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind  that  stamp  him  as  one 
of  the  very  great  men  of  the  century  so  rapidly  receding 
from  us. 

Clerk  Maxwell,  as  he  is  usually  called,  because  he 
was  the  representative  of  a  younger  branch  of  the  well- 
known  Scottish  family  of  Clerk  of  Penicuik,  was  born 
in  Edinburgh,  June  13th,  1831.  As  with  nearly  every 
other  person  who  reaches  distinction  in  after-life,  there 
are  stories  told  of  his  precociousness  which  probably 
have  more  meaning  in  this  case  than  in  most  others, 
since  they  exhibit  real  traits  that  were  characteristic  of 
the  man.  As  a  child,  it  is  said  that  he  was  never  satis- 
fied until  he  had  found  out  for  himself  everything  that 
he  could  about  anything  that  attracted  his  attention. 
He  wanted  to  know  where  the  streams  of  water  came 
from,  where  and  whence  all  the  pipes  ran,  and  the 
course  of  bell-wires  and  the  like.  His  frequently  re- 
peated question  was,  "What's  the  go  o'  that."  If  an 
attempt  were  made  to  put  him  ofl^  with  some  indefinite 


336  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

answer,  then  he  would  insist,  "But  what's  the  partic- 
ular go  of  it."  This  was  probably  the  most  prominent 
trait  in  his  after-life.  General  explanations  of  phenom- 
ena that  satisfied  other  men  never  satisfied  him.  He 
was  a  nature  student  from  the  beginning,  and  even  as  a 
boy  he  devised  all  sorts  of  ingenious  mechanical  contriv- 
ances. Pet  animals  were  his  special  delight,  but  for 
experimental  purposes  always,  and  his  selection  of  pets 
would  probably  have  startled  some  people. 

He  received  his  early  education  at  the  Edinburgh 
Academy,  and  his  university  education  at  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  where  he  graduated  in  1850.  His  liking 
for  mathematics,  which  had  already  been  very  strongly 
exhibited,  led  him,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  to  go  to 
Cambridge.  Here,  for  a  term  or  two,  he  was  a  student 
at  Peterhouse,  but  afterwards  found  a  more  sympa- 
thetic place  for  his  mathematical  tastes  at  Trinity.  He 
took  his  degree  at  Cambridge  in  1854,  though  only  with 
the  rank  of  second  wrangler,  Routh  being  senior.  In 
the  more  serious  and  more  exacting  examination  for  the 
Smith's  Prize,  he  was  declared  equal  with  the  senior 
wrangler.  His  mathematical  talents  had  developed  very 
early,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  rest  of  his  life 
should  have  been  devoted  mainly  to  the  teaching  of  math- 
ematics and  in  investigations  connected  with  applied 
mathematics.  It  was  not  success  at  the  university  that 
determined  his  career,  for  he  had  shown  his  marvelous 
mathematical  ability  much  earlier  than  that,  and  ha(J 
given  some  astonishing  examples  of  his  power  to  treat 
complex  scientific  problems  in  mathematical  journals. 

Indeed,  his  original  contributions  to  the  higher  math- 
ematics began  before  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age. 
He  was  a  striking  example  of  the  fact  that  a  great 


CLERK  MAXWELL  337 

genius  usually  finds  his  work  very  early  in  life,  and 
usually  accomplishes  something  significant  in  it,  at  once 
the  harbinger  and  the  token  of  the  future,  before 
he  is  twenty-five.  While  Clerk  Maxwell  was  at  the 
Edinburgh  Academy,  Professor  J.  D.  B.  Forbes,  in  1836, 
communicated  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh  a  short 
paper  by  his  youthful  student  on  '  'A  Mechanical  Method 
of  Tracing  Oval  Curves  "  (Cartesian  Ovals). 

In  spite  of  the  prejudice  that  exists  with  regard  to 
precocious  genius  and  the  distinct  feeling  that  it  is  not 
likely  to  prove  an  enduring  quality,  Clerk  Maxwell  con- 
tinued to  do  excellent  original  work  all  through  his  teens. 
When  he  was  but  eighteen,  he  contributed  two  impor- 
tant papers  to  the  transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of 
Edinburgh.  One  of  these  was  on  "The  Theory  of  Roll- 
ing Curves,"  and  the  other  on  ''The  Equilibrium  of 
Elastic  Solids."  These  are  now  remembered,  not  only 
because  of  Clerk  Maxwell's  subsequent  distinguished 
career,  but  because  of  their  distinct  value  as  contribu- 
tions to  science.  Both  of  them  demonstrate  not  only  his 
ability  to  work  out  subtle  mathematical  problems  at  this 
very  early  age,  but  show  the  possession  by  him  of  a 
power  of  investigation  for  original  work  that  stamps 
them  as  well  worthy  of  consideration  in  themselves, 
quite  apart  from  the  repute  of  their  author  or  the  suc- 
cessful accomplishments  of  his  subsequent  life. 

With  regard  to  one  of  those  Edinburgh  papers  of 
Clerk  Maxwell's  eighteenth  year,  Prof.  Guthrie  Tait 
said  "that  in  it  he  laid  the  foundation  of  one  of  the 
singular  discoveries  of  his  later  life,  the  temporary 
double  refraction  produced  in  viscous  liquid  by  sheer- 
ing stress."  After  his  magnificent  mathematical  train- 
ing at  Cambridge,  it  is  not  surprising  that  this  academic 


338  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

career  of  great  original  work  should  be  continued  by- 
contributions  to  science  of  ever-increasing  importance. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation,  he  read  to  the  Cam- 
bridge Philosophical  Society  one  of  the  few  purely  math- 
ematical papers  that  he  ever  published.  This  had  for  its 
title,  ' '  On  the  Transformation  of  Surfaces  by  Bending. ' ' 
Expert  mathematicians  who  read  the  paper,  realized 
at  once  that  there  was  a  new  genius  in  the  field  of 
mathematics.  During  the  same  year,  the  young  Scotch 
mathematician  took  the  first  step  in  that  series  of 
electrical  investigations  which  was  to  occupy  so  much  of 
his  attention  in  after-life,  and  which  was  to  prove  the 
source  of  his  greatest  inspirations.  This  consisted  of 
the  publication  of  an  elaborate  paper  on  Faraday's  *  *  lines 
of  force." 

While  we  think  of  Maxwell  as  a  mathematical  physi- 
cist, it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  also  one  of  the 
leading  experimental  scientists  of  that  great  epoch,  the 
nineteenth  century.  Only  a  man  who  was  himself  a 
great  experimenter  could  have  properly  appreciated  and 
developed,  from  the  mathematical  standpoint,  the  works 
of  such  men  as  Cavendish  and  Faraday.  From  his 
early  years.  Maxwell  displayed  a  distinct  fondness  for 
experimentation,  and  this  even  extended  to  experiments 
upon  himself.  In  many  ways  this  trait  of  his  would  re- 
mind us  of  Johann  Miiller,  the  great  father  of  modern 
German  medicine.^  Like  Muller,  there  was  danger  also 
of  Maxwell's  experiments  on  himself  getting  him  into 
trouble.  For  instance,  at  one  time  his  love  of  experi- 
ment led  him  to  try  sleeping  in  the  evening  and  getting 
up  to  work  at  midnight,  so  as  to  have  the  long,  silent 

1  See  life  of  Johann  Miiller,  in  Makers  of  Modern  Medicine,  Fordham  University 
Press.  N.  Y..  1906. 


CLERK  MAXWELL  339 

hours  of  the  night  to  himself.  In  the  sketch  of  his 
life  by  Dr.  Garnett,^  a  letter  from  one  of  his  friends 
is  quoted  with  regard  to  this  nocturnal  habit,  which  is 
amusing  as  well  as  interesting.    The  friend  wrote  : 

"From  2  to  2:30  a.  m.  he  took  exercise  by  running 
along  the  upper  corridor,  down  the  stairs,  along  the 
lower  corridor,  then  up  the  stairs,  and  so  on  until  the  in- 
habitants of  the  rooms  along  his  track  got  up  and  laid 
perdus  behind  their  sporting  doors,  to  have  shots  at  him 
with  boots,  hair-brushes,  etc.,  as  he  passed."  His  love 
of  fun,  his  sharp  wit,  his  extensive  knowledge,  and, 
above  all,  his  complete  unselfishness,  rendered  him  a 
universal  favorite,  in  spite  of  the  temporary  inconven- 
iences which  his  experiments  may  have  occasionally 
caused  to  his  fellow-students. 

In  1857,  Clerk  Maxwell  received  the  Adams  Prize  for 
his  essay  on  **The  Stability  of  the  Motion  of  Saturn's 
Rings."  He  shows  very  clearly  that  these  annular  ap- 
pendages consist  of  a  large  number  of  small  masses. 
This  work  would  seem  to  be  very  distant  from  any- 
thing that  Maxwell  had  attempted  before,  and  would 
indeed  seem  to  the  superficial  observer,  at  least,  to 
be  quite  out  of  his  sphere.  It  was  the  mathematics 
of  it  that  attracted  him,  and  the  fact  that  the  problem 
was  difficult,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  difficult  at  that 
time  before  astronomers,  only  added  zest  to  his  resolve 
to  fathom  it.  All  his  life,  mathematics  continued  to  be 
his  favorite  form  of  work,  and  his  power  to  express  the 
most  complex  physical  phenomena  in  mathematical 
formulae  gave  him  a  reputation  throughout  Europe  un- 
surpassed by  anyone  of  his  generation.  The  more  a 
problem  seemed  incapable  of  direct  statement  in  math- 

^  Heroed  of  Science  Physicists,  N.  Y.,  Young  &  Co.,  1885. 


340  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ematical  terms,  provided  it  represented  a  great  occur- 
rence in  nature,  the  more  Maxwell  was  attracted  to  it ; 
and  the  training  of  these  early  years  in  thus  setting 
mathematics  to  the  solution  of  physical  relations,  was 
to  serve  him  in  good  stead  when  he  came  to  try  his 
hand  at  demonstrating  the  meaning  of  electricity  in 
mathematical  terms. 

Just  before  this,  in  1856,  Maxwell,  though  only  twenty- 
five  years  of  age,  was  offered  the  chair  of  natural  his- 
tory, which  included  most  of  the  physical  sciences,  at 
Marischal  College,  Abderdeen,  With  the  attention  that 
his  mathematical  papers  attracted,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  after  four  years  of  teaching  experience  he  was 
invited  to  King's  College,  London.  He  held  his  new 
position  for  eight  years,  and  then  his  health  required 
him  to  retire  to  his  estate  in  Kirkcudbrightshire.  After 
three  years  of  retirement,  his  English  Alma  Mater  de- 
manded his  services,  and  the  temptation  to  get  back 
to  an  academic  career  was  so  great  that  he  could  not 
resist  it.  He  became,  in  1871,  Professor  of  experimen- 
tal physics  at  Cambridge.  To  him,  more  than  to  anyone 
else,  is  due  the  magnificent  development  of  the  physi- 
cal sciences  which  took  place  at  Cambridge  during  the 
last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Unfortunately, 
he  was  not  destined  to  live  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
labor  in  organizing  the  scientific  side  of  the  university, 
but  it  was  under  his  direction  that  the  plans  of  the 
Cavendish  Laboratory  were  prepared,  and  he  super- 
intended every  step  of  the  progress  of  the  building. 
It  was  under  his  careful  management,  too,  that  the 
purchase  of  the  very  valuable  collection  of  apparatus, 
with  which  it  was  equipped  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire, 


CLERK  MAXWELL  341 

Was  made,  and  Maxwell's  work  here  counts  for  much 
in  the  history  of  English  science. 

He  died  in  1879,  when  only  forty-eight  years  of  age, 
but  he  had  deeply  impressed  himself  upon  the  science 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  For  quite  one-half  of  his 
scant  half-century  span  of  life  he  had  occupied  a  prom- 
inent place  in  England,  and  after  the  age  of  thirty-five 
had  come  to  be  generally  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing physical  scientists  of  the  world.  His  career  is,  as 
we  have  said,  a  striking  illustration  of  how  early  in  life 
a  man's  real  work  is  likely  to  come  to  him,  and  how 
Httle  success  in  original  investigation  is  dependent  on 
that  development  of  mind  which  is  supposed  to  be  due 
only  to  long  years  of  application  to  a  particular  branch 
of  study.  Manifestly  it  is  the  original  genius  that 
counts  for  most,  and  not  any  training  that  it  receives, 
except  such  as  comes  from  its  own  maturing  powers. 
Environment,  if  unfavorable,  does  not  hamper  it  much, 
nor  keep  it  from  reaching  the  proper  terminus  of  its 
destiny;  and  poor  health  only  serves  to  prevent  the 
exercise  of  its  full  powers,  but  does  not  eclipse  the 
manifestation  of  its  capacity. 

Clerk  Maxwell's  important  contribution  to  science 
was  the  demonstration  that  electro-magnetic  effects 
travel  through  space  in  the  form  of  transverse  waves 
similar  to  those  of  light  and  having  the  same  velocity. 
We  have  become  so  familiar  with  the  ideas  contained  in 
this  explanation,  that  they  seem  almost  obvious  now. 
They  came,  however,  as  a  great  surprise  to  Clerk  Max- 
well's generation,  and  at  first  seemed  to  be  merely  a 
theoretic  expression  of  a  mathematical  formula.  Not 
long  afterwards,  however.  Maxwell's  explanation  was 
corroborated  by  Hertz,  who  showed  that  these  waves 


342  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

were  propagated  just  as  waves  of  light  are,  and  that 
they  exhibit  the  phenomena  of  reflection,  refraction  and 
polarization.  Hertz  went  on  from  his  demonstration  of 
the  actuality  of  Maxwell's  mathematical  theory  to  the 
demonstration  of  further  electrical  waves.  These  Hertz- 
ian waves,  as  they  were  called,  were  a  startling  discov- 
ery, but  remained  only  a  scientific  curiosity  until  they 
were  taken  advantage  of  for  wireless  telegraphy,  when 
a  new  era  of  applied  electrical  science  began. 

How  his  success  in  this  was  accomplished  will  be 
best  understood  from  Prof.  Guthrie  Tait's  account  of 
Maxwell's  devotion  to  electricity  as  a  life-work.  He 
says: 

"But  the  great  work  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
electricity.  He  began  by  reading  with  the  most  pro- 
found admiration  and  attention  the  whole  of  Faraday's 
extraordinary  self -revelations,  and  proceeded  to  translate 
the  ideas  of  that  master  into  the  succinct  and  expressive 
notation  of  the  mathematicians.  A  considerable  part 
of  this  translation  was  accomplished  during  his  career 
as  an  undergraduate  in  Cambridge.  The  writer  had 
the  opportunity  of  perusing  the  MS.  on  Faraday's  lines 
of  force,  in  a  form  little  different  from  the  final  one,  a 
year  before  Maxwell  took  his  degree.  His  great  object, 
as  it  was  also  the  great  object  of  Faraday,  was  to  over- 
turn the  idea  of  action  at  a  distance.  The  splendid  re- 
searches of  Poisson  and  Gauss  had  shown  how  to 
reduce  all  the  phenomena  of  statical  electricity  to  mere 
attractions  and  repulsions  exerted  at  a  distance  by  par- 
ticles of  an  imponderable  on  one  another.  Sir  W. 
Thomson  had,  in  1846,  shown  that  a  totally  different 
assumption,  based  upon  other  analogies,  led  (by  its 
own  special  mathematical  methods)  to  precisely  the 
same  results.  He  treated  the  resultant  electric  force  at 
any  point  as  an  analogous  flux  of  heat  from  the  sources 
distributed,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  supposed  electric 
particles.  This  paper  of  Thomson's,  whose  ideas  Max- 
well afterwards  developed  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 


CLERK  MAXWELL  343 

seems  to  have  given  the  first  hint  that  there  are  at 
least  two  perfectly  distinct  methods  of  arriving  at  the 
known  formulse  of  statical  electricity.  The  step  to 
magnetic  phenomena  was  comparatively  simple  ;  but  it 
was  otherwise  as  regards  electromagnetic  phenomena, 
where  cm-rent  electricity  is  essentially  involved.  An 
exceedingly  ingenious,  but  highly  artificial,  theory  had 
been  devised  by  Weber,  which  was  found  capable  of 
explaining  all  the  phenomena  investigated  by  Ampere 
as  well  as  the  induction  currents  of  Faraday.  But  this 
was  based  upon  the  assumption  of  a  distance-action 
between  electric  particles,  whose  intensity  depended 
upon  their  relative  motion  as  well  as  on  their  position. 
This  was,  of  course,  more  repugnant  to  Maxwell's  mind 
than  the  statical  distance-action  developed  by  Poisson. 
The  first  paper  of  Maxwell's  in  which  an  attempt  at  an 
admissible  physical  theory  of  electromagnetism  was 
made,  was  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society  in  1867. 
But  the  theory  in  a  fully  developed  form,  first  appeared 
in  his  great  treatise  on  Electricity  and  Magnetism 
(1878).  Availing  himself  of  the  admirable  generalized 
coordinate  system  of  Lagrange,  Maxwell  has  shown 
how  to  reduce  all  electric  and  magnetic  phenomena  to 
stresses  and  motions  of  a  material  medium,  and  as  one 
preliminary,  but  excessively  severe,  test  of  the  truth  of 
this  theory  has  shown  that,  if  the  electromagnetic  me- 
dium be  that  which  is  required  for  the  explanation  of 
the  phenomena  of  Hght,  the  velocity  of  light  in  vacuo 
should  be  numerically  the  same  as  the  ratio  of  the  elec- 
tromagnetic and  electrostatic  units.  We  do  not  as  yet 
certainly  know  either  of  these  quantities  very  exactly, 
but  the  mean  values  of  the  best  determination  of  each 
separately  agree  with  one  another  more  closely  than  do 
the  various  values  of  either.  There  seems  to  be  no  longer 
any  possibility  of  doubt  that  Maxwell  has  taken  the 
first  grand  step  towards  the  discovery  of  the  true  nature 
of  electrical  phenomena.  Had  he  done  nothing  but  this, 
his  fame  would  have  been  secure  for  all  time.  But, 
striking  as  it  is,  this  forms  only  one  small  part  of  the 
contents  of  his  truly  marvelous  work." 

Maxwell's  prediction  as  to  the  propagation  of  electric 
waves  has  received  its  full  confirmation,  as  we  have 


344  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

said,  in  the  brilliant  experiments  of  Hertz,  and  in  the 
subsequent  application  of  the  Hertzian  waves  to  wire- 
less telegraphy  in  our  own  time.  It  was  not  by  mere 
chance  that  this  development  of  Maxwell's  thinking 
came.  Hertz  himself  declared,  in  the  introduction  to 
his  collected  papers,  that  he  owed  the  suggestion  of 
his  work  to  Faraday  and  Maxwell,  and  above  all  to 
Maxwell's  speculations  as  to  the  nature  of  electricity 
and  its  relations  to  light.    Hertz  said  : 

The  hypothesis  that  light  is  an  electric  phenomenon 
is  thus  made  highly  probable.  To  give  a  strict  proof 
of  this  hypothesis  would  logically  require  experiments 
upon  hght  itself.  There  is  an  obvious  comparison  be- 
tween the  experiments  and  the  theory,  in  connection 
with  which  they  were  really  undertaken.  Since  1861, 
science  has  been  in  possession  of  a  theory  which  Max- 
well constructed  upon  Faraday's  views,  and  which  we 
therefore  call  the  Faraday-Maxwell  theory.  This  theory 
affirms  the  occurrence  of  the  class  of  phenomena  here 
discovered,  just  as  positively  as  the  remaining  electric 
theories  are  compelled  to  deny  it.  From  the  outset. 
Maxwell's  theory  excelled  all  others  in  its  elaboration 
and  in  the  abundance  of  relations  between  the  various 
phenomena  which  it  included." 

How  much  Maxwell's  work  was  appreciated  across 
the  channel,  may  be  realized  from  what  Poincare  said : 
"So  sure  did  the  results  of  his  (Maxwell's)  theory 
appear  as  worked  out  for  the  deepest  problems,  that  a 
feeling  of  distrust  and  suspicion  is  likely  to  be  mingled 
with  our  admiration  for  his  magnificent  work.  It  is 
only  after  prolonged  study  and  at  the  cost  of  many 
efforts  that  this  feeling  is  dissipated." 


CLERK  MAXWELL  345 

Maxwell's  explanation  of  electricity  is  that  it  is  a 
strain  or  stress  in  the  ether,  that  it  is  a  condition  or 
mode,  and  not  a  substance.  One  distin^ished  foreign 
contemporary  who  had  read  Maxwell's  books  with  the 
greatest  interest,  declared  that  he  could  not  be  quite 
satisfied,  since  nowhere  did  he  find  what  a  charge  of 
electricity  is,  though  he  seemed  to  find  satisfactory 
information  with  regard  to  everything  else.  Maxwell 
realized,  however,  the  limitations  of  his  speculation  very 
well,  and  hesitated,  above  all,  to  bind  his  mathematical 
conclusions  to  statements  that  might  prove  eventually 
only  surmises  founded  on  insufficient  information  from 
the  standpoint  of  observation.  Even  when  he  gave  his 
explanation,  he  did  not  insist  on  it  as  absolute,  but,  as 
pointed  out  by  Poincare,  discussed  it  only  as  a  possi- 
bility. The  French  scientist  said  :  ' '  Maxwell  does  not 
give  a  mechanical  explanation  of  electricity  and  mag- 
netism ;  he  is  only  concerned  to  show  that  such  an  ex- 
planation is  possible." 

Maxwell  thoroughly  believed  in  having  a  hobby  as 
well  as  his  regular  work,  and  during  the  time  while  he 
was  devoting  himself  to  the  mathematical  explanation 
of  electricity  he  turned  for  recreation  to  certain  prob- 
lems in  physics,  in  physiology  and  psychology,  relating 
to  color.  He  worked  almost  as  great  a  revolution  in  our 
knowledge  of  color-vision  as  in  any  other  subject  that 
he  took  up.  Principal  Garnett  has  condensed  so  well 
what  Clerk  Maxwell  accomplished  in  the  matter  of  color- 
vision,  in  his  sketch  of  him  in  "The  Heroes  of  Sci- 
ence,"^ that  I  prefer  to  quote  his  explanation.  He 
says : 

1  Heroes  of  Science  Physicists,  by  Wm.  Garnett,  M.  A.,  D.  C.  L.  London  Society 
for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  Northtunberland  Ave.,  Charing  Cross,  W.  C^ 
New  York,  E.  and  J.  B.  Young. 


346  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

**  It  has  been  stated  that  Thomas  Young  propounded  a 
theory  of  color-vision  which  assumes  that  there  exists 
three  separate  color  sensations,  corresponding  to  red, 
green  and  violet,  each  having  its  ovt^n  special  organs, 
the  excitement  of  which  causes  the  perception  of  the 
corresponding  color,  other  colors  being  due  to  the  ex- 
citement of  two  or  more  of  these  simple  sensations  in 
different  proportions.  Maxwell  adopted  blue  instead  of 
violet  for  the  third  sensation,  and  showed  that,  if  a 
particular  red,  green,  and  blue  were  selected  and  placed 
at  the  angular  points  of  an  equilateral  triangle,  the 
colors  formed  by  mixing  them  being  arranged  as  in 
Young's  diagram,  all  the  shades  of  the  spectrum  would 
be  ranged  along  the  sides  of  this  triangle,  the  center 
being  neutral  grey.  For  the  mixing  of  colored  lights, 
he  at  first  employed  the  color  top  ;  but  instead  of  paint- 
ing circles  with  colored  sectors,  the  angles  of  which 
could  not  be  changed,  he  used  circular  discs  of  colored 
paper  slit  along  one  radius.  Any  number  of  such 
discs  can  be  combined  so  that  each  shows  a  sector  at 
the  top,  and  the  angle  of  each  sector  can  be  varied 
at  will  by  sliding  the  corresponding  disc  between  the 
others.  Maxwell  used  discs  of  two  different  sizes,  the 
small  discs  being  placed  above  the  larger  on  the  same 
pivot,  so  that  one  set  forked  a  central  circle  and  the 
other  set  a  ring  surrounding  it.  He  found  that,  with 
discs  of  five  different  colors,  of  which  one  might  be 
white  and  another  black,  it  was  always  possible  to  com- 
bine them  so  that  the  inner  circle  and  the  outer  ring 
exactly  matched.  From  this  he  showed  that  there  could 
be  only  three  conditions  to  be  satisfied  in  the  eye,  for 
two  conditions  were  necessitated  by  the  nature  of  the 
top,  since  the  smaller  sectors  must  exactly  fill  the  circle 
and  so  must  the  larger.  Maxwell's  experiments,  there- 
fore, confirmed,  in  general.  Young's  theory.  They 
showed,  however,  that  the  relative  delicacy  of  the  sev- 
eral color  sensations  is  different  in  different  eyes,  for 
the  arrangement  which  produced  an  exact  match  in  the 
case  of  one  observer,  had  to  be  modified  for  another ; 
but  this  difference  of  delicacy  proved  to  be  very  con- 
spicuous in  color-blind  persons,  for  in  most  of  the  cases 
of  color-blindness  examined  by  Maxwell  the  red  sensa- 
tion was  completely  absent,  so  that  only  two  conditions 


CLERK  MAXWELL  347 

were  required  by  color-blind  eyes,  and  a  match  could 
therefore  always  be  made  in  such  cases  with  four  discs 
only.  Holmgren  has  since  discovered  cases  of  color- 
blindness in  which  the  violet  sensation  is  absent.  He 
agrees  with  Young  in  making  the  third  sensation  cor- 
respond to  violet  rather  than  blue.  Maxwell  explained 
the  fact  that  persons  color-blind  to  the  red  divide  colors 
into  blues  and  yellows,  by  the  consideration  that,  al- 
though yellow  is  a  complex  sensation  corresponding  to 
a  mixture  of  red  and  green,  yet  in  nature,  yellow  tints 
are  so  much  brighter  than  greens,  that  they  excite  the 
green  sensation  more  than  green  objects  themselves  can 
do ;  and  hence  greens  and  yellows  are  called  yellow  by 
such  color-blind  persons,  though  their  perception  of 
yellow  is  really  the  same  as  perception  of  green  by 
normal  eyes.  Later  on,  by  a  combination  of  adjustable 
slits,  prisms,  and  lenses  arranged  in  a  '  color  box, '  Max- 
well succeeded  in  mixing,  in  any  desired  proportions, 
the  light  from  any  three  portions  of  the  spectrum,  so 
that  he  could  deal  with  pure  spectral  colors  instead  of 
the  complex  combinations  of  differently  colored  lights 
afforded  by  colored  papers.  From  these  experiments,  it 
appears  that  no  ray  of  the  solar  spectrum  can  affect  one 
color  sensation  alone,  so  that  there  are  no  colors  in 
nature  so  pure  as  to  correspond  to  the  pure  simple  sen- 
sations, and  the  colors  occupying  the  angular  points  of 
Maxwell's  diagram  affect  all  three  color  sensations, 
though  they  influence  two  of  them  to  a  much  smaller 
extent  than  the  third.  A  particular  color  in  the  spec- 
trum corresponds  to  light  which,  according  to  the  undu- 
latory  theory,  physically  consists  of  waves,  all  of  the 
same  period ;  but  it  may  affect  all  three  of  the  color  sen- 
sations of  a  normal  eye,  though  in  different  proportions. 
Thus  yellow-light  of  a  given  wave-length  affects  the  red 
and  green  sensations  considerably  and  the  blue  (or 
violet)  slightly,  and  the  same  effect  may  be  produced  by 
various  mixtures  of  red  or  orange  and  green." 

For  his  researches  on  the  perception  of  color,  the 
Royal  Society  awarded  Clerk  Maxwell  the  Rumford 
Medal  in  1860. 


348  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Besides  this  more  or  less  theoretic  work,  however. 
Maxwell  made  some  interesting  and  important  discov- 
eries and  inventions  in  optics.  For  instance,  he  noted 
the  great  differences  that  exist  in  the  eyes  of  dark  and 
fair  complexions  to  different  colors  when  the  light  falls 
upon  the  center  of  the  yellow  spot,  the  so-called  fovea 
centralis,  or  central  pit  of  the  retina.  His  researches 
with  regard  to  this  led  him  to  the  discovery  that  this 
portion  of  the  retina  is  largely  lacking  in  sensibility  to 
blue  light.  He  was  able  to  demonstrate  this  by  his 
experiment  of  looking  through  a  glass  vessel  containing 
a  solution  of  chrome  alum,  when  the  central  portion  of 
the  field  of  vision  appears  of  a  light  red  color  for  the 
first  second  or  two.  He  was  also  the  inventor  of  an  in- 
genious optical  apparatus,  a  real  image  stereoscope.  A 
still  more  important  discovery  was  that  of  the  double 
refraction  which  is  produced  for  the  time  in  viscous 
liquids  when  they  are  stirred  and  their  motion  is  not  as- 
yet  stopped.  Maxwell  showed  that  Canada  balsam,  for 
instance,  when  stirred,  acquired  a  distinct  power  of 
double  refraction,  which  it  retained  so  long  as  the 
stress  in  the  fluid  produced  by  stirring  remained. 

Other  departments  of  physics  were  not  neglected. 
For  instance,  one  of  his  greatest  investigations  was  that 
on  the  kinetic  theory  of  gases.  Geniuses  had  been 
working  before  him  on  this  line,  for,  as  pointed  out  by 
Professor  Tait,  this  theory  owed  its  origin  to  Daniel 
Bernoulli,  the  greatest  mathematician  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  had  been  developed  by  the  successful 
labors  of  Herapath,  Joule  and,  above  all,  of  Clausius. 
The  work  of  these  men  put  the  general  accuracy  of  the 
theory  beyond  all  doubt  and  led  to  its  very  general 
acceptance,  yet  the  details  of  it  needed  to  be  elaborated 


CLERK  MAXWELL  349 

l)ef  ore  it  could  become  definitely  scientific.  Its  greatest 
developments  are  due  to  Maxwell,  and  in  this  field 
Maxwell  appeared  as  an  experimenter  on  the  laws  of 
gaseous  friction  as  well  as  a  mathematician.  His  work 
with  regard  to  color  had  showed  his  ingenuity  as  an 
experimentalist,  and  this  is  still  further  illustrated  by 
his  carefully  arranged  experiments  on  gases.  Indeed, 
his  work  in  this  line  makes  it  very  clear  that  nothing 
was  too  difficult  for  him,  and  that  anything  that  he 
turned  his  hand  to  in  the  field  of  science  he  was  sure  to 
accomplish  with  eminent  success. 

It  was  not  only  his  scientific  monographs,  however, 
that  indicate  how  great  a  scientist  Clerk  Maxwell  was, 
but  his  text-books,  even  those  of  more  or  less  elemen- 
tary character,  which  he  wrote  bring  out  this  same  idea. 
He  wrote,  for  instance,  an  admirable  text-book  on  the 
theory  of  heat,  which  went  through  many  editions. 
Students  of  the  subject,  even  those  who  were  not  far 
advanced,  found  it  clear  and  easier  of  study  than  many 
a  less  exhaustive  work.  He  also  wrote  an  elementary 
treatise  on  matter  and  motion,  which  has  gone  through 
several  editions.  One  might  think  that  so  small  a  work 
would  scarcely  interest  him  enough  to  tempt  him  to  put 
forth  his  powers  at  their  best,  and  that  at  most  it  would 
be  a  conventional  condensation  of  previous  knowledge. 
Prof.  Tait,  who  surely  must  be  taken  as  a  good  judge  in 
the  matter,  says  that  "even  this,  like  his  other  and 
larger  works,  is  full  of  valuable  material  worthy  of  the 
most  attentive  perusal  not  of  students  alone,  but  of  the 
very  foremost  scientific  men." 

One  of  the  characteristic  traits  of  Maxwell  was  his 
desire  to  impart  information  to  others.  This  extended 
not  only  to  his  academic  relations,  but,  above  all,  to  the 


350  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

working  classes,  who  might  have  few  opportunities  for 
the  obtaining  of  the  information  that  was  so  interesting 
with  regard  to  natural  subjects.  Everywhere  that  he 
held  an  academic  post  in  his  life,  he  gave  lectures  to  the 
workmen.  He  was  an  extremely  interesting  talker,  and 
one  of  his  friends  said  of  him :  * '  I  do  believe  there  is 
not  a  single  subject  on  which  he  cannot  talk,  and  talk 
well,  too,  displaying  always  the  most  curious  and  out-of- 
the-way  information."  One  of  his  private  tutors  said 
of  him  :  "  It  is  not  possible  for  Maxwell  to  think  incor- 
rectly on  physical  subjects."  It  is  easy  to  understand, 
then,  how  much  his  lectures  to  the  working  people  at 
Aberdeen,  at  Edinburgh,  and  at  Kings  College,  London, 
as  well  as  at  Cambridge,  meant  for  them.  If  men  like 
Maxwell  would  take  up  the  popularization  of  science 
generally,  then  there  would  be  much  less  opprobrium 
attached  to  the  expression  popular  science  than  there 
has  been  only  too  often  in  the  past,  and  is  even  at 
present. 

Just  as  Maxwell  set  himself  to  the  solution  of  the 
most  difficult  problems  in  physics,  so  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  give  himself  also  to  the  discussion  of  problems  in 
ethics.  Here  his  power  of  penetration,  the  rigid  logic 
of  his  mind,  and  his  power  to  follow  out  conclusions  to 
their  ultimate  significance,  were  quite  as  manifest  as 
any  scientific  writing.  It  is  almost  the  rule  to  find  that 
scientists  either  ignore  the  great  problems  of  man's 
place  in  nature  and  his  destiny,  or  treat  them  very 
superficially.  Agnosticism  had  become  the  fad  of  the 
moment,  and  was  just  beginning  to  make  itself  felt  as 
a  fashion  in  thinking  when  Clerk  Maxwell  was  doing  his 
great  work.  Maxwell  was  not  an  agnostic  in  science, 
and  because  he  could  not  solve  all  the  problems  that. 


CLERK  MAXWELL  351 

came  to  him  with  regard  to  electricity  and  the  consti- 
tution of  matter,  this  did  not  keep  him  from  setting 
himself  to  the  task  of  seeing  what  should  be  his  thoughts 
with  regard  to  these  subjects.  He  had  none  of  the  ag- 
nostic's feelings  with  regard  to  them,  that  since  we 
cannot  know  all  about  them  definitely  and  absolutely, 
therefore  it  is  not  worth  while  studying  them  at  all. 
Had  Maxwell  been  tempted  to  any  such  line  of  thought, 
we  would  have  missed  some  of  the  most  helpful  scien- 
tific speculations  and  suggestions  that  have  ever  been 
made. 

No  one  knew  better  than  Maxwell,  that  his  specu- 
lations on  matter  and  electricity  were  theories,  and  that 
what  he  was  offering  to  science  were  not  definite  ex- 
planations, but  possible  hypotheses.  He  has  emphasized 
this  himself  over  and  over  again.  This  inability  of  the 
human  intellect  at  the  present  moment  to  solve  all  the 
questions  that  its  inquiring  spirit  can  evoke,  did  not 
keep  him  from  investigating  and  following  up  his  in- 
vestigations by  mathematical  deductions  and  mechanical 
suggestions  just  as  far  as  possible.  He  had  the  same 
attitude  of  mind  toward  the  great  problems  of  man's 
relation  to  his  fellow-man,  to  the  universe,  and  to  a 
hereafter.  While  he  felt  that  he  could  not  solve  the 
problems  entirely,  he  felt  also  that  his  reasoning  was 
quite  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  get  a  little  nearer  to 
the  heart  mystery  of  them  and  to  understand  some- 
thing of  their  significance.  In  his  later  years,  the 
question  of  the  existence  of  pain  and  suffering  in  the 
world  had,  because  of  Darwin's  attitude  towards  them 
and  his  declaration  that  since  he  was  unable  to  under- 
stand them  they  carried  him  away  from  the  thought  of  a 
beneficent  Creator,  attracted  much  attention.    We  have 


352  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

an  essay  of  Clerk  Maxwell's,  then,  on  "Aspects  of 
Pain,"  in  which  he  discusses  particularly  pain  as  discip- 
line. It  is,  of  course,  the  old  story,  that  men  rise  on 
stepping-stones  of  their  dead  selves,  and  that  the  suc- 
cessive deaths  of  self  represent  a  triumphant  progress, 
but  it  comes  with  a  new  vigor  from  this  great  scientist. 
We  all  know  that  it  is  the  man  who  has  suffered  who  is 
able  to  do  things,  and  we  are  all  well  aware  that  the  man 
who  has  lived  in  comfort  all  his  life  is  almost  sure  to  be 
lacking  in  character  when  a  great  crisis  comes  upon 
him.  Indeed,  as  Clerk  Maxwell  re-states  it,  this  is 
such  a  commonplace  that  one  wonders  why  the  problem 
of  pain  should  have  seemed  so  hard  to  understand. 

There  is  an  essay  of  his,  also,  on  "Science  and  Free 
Will,"  which  seems  to  deserve  special  notice.  He  has 
no  illusions  with  regard  to  determinism.  He  is  perfectly 
sure  that  he  is  free  and  that  the  great  majority  of  men 
around  him  do  or  do  not  things  as  they  choose.  He 
points  out  that  science  makes  for  determinism  only  if 
one  takes  a  very  narrow  view  of  it.  Free  will  is  not 
only  compatible  with  scientific  thinking,  but  it  rep- 
resents what  would  be  expected  as  a  culmination  of  the 
significance  of  life.  In  a  word.  Clerk  Maxwell  wrote 
ras  suggestively  with  regard  to  the  great  problems  of 
human  life  as  with  regard  to  the  physical  nature  around 
him  that  claimed  so  much  of  his  interest.  He  was  a 
true  natural  philosopher,  and  his  interests  were  not 
limited  merely  to  the  lower  orders  of  beings. 

Because  of  the  supreme  power  of  Clerk  Maxwell's 
mind  to  seek  out  the  very  heart  of  difficulties,  the  con- 
clusions which  he  reached  with  regard  to  the  existence 
of  matter  and  the  causes  for  the  ultimate  qualities  which 
it  exhibits,  have  an  enduring  interest.    Mathematics  is 


CLERK  MAXWELL  353 

sometimes  said  to  lead  minds  into  scepticism.  Cardinal 
Newman  even  thought  that  the  mathematical  cast  of 
mind  was  the  farthest  removed  from  that  which  might  be 
expected  to  accept  things  confidently  on  faith.  Clerk 
Maxwell's  intellect  was  eminently  mathematical ;  yet,  far 
from  sending  him  over  into  the  camp  of  the  agnostics, 
his  tendency  to  get  at  the  ultimate  reasons  for  things 
seemed  almost  to  push  him  to  conclusions  with  regard  to 
the  origin  of  matter,  and  especially  its  ultimate  constit- 
uents, not  ordinarily  supposed  to  be  scientific.  A  pas- 
sage like  the  following,  for  instance,  which  may  be  found 
in  his  book  on  "The  Theory  of  Heat,"  London,  1872, 
page  312,  brings  out  this  tendency  very  well : 

' '  But  if  we  suppose  the  molecules  to  be  made  at  all, 
or  if  we  suppose  them  to  consist  of  something  previously 
made,  why  should  we  expect  any  irregularity  to  exist 
among  them?  If  they  are,  as  we  believe,  the  only  ma- 
terial things  which  still  remain  in  the  precise  condition  in 
which  they  first  began  to  exist,  why  should  we  not 
rather  look  for  some  indication  of  that  spirit  of  order, 
our  scientific  confidence  in  which  is  never  shaken  by  the 
difficulty  which  we  experience  in  tracing  it  in  the  com- 
plex arrangements  of  visible  things,  and  of  which  our 
moral  estimation  is  shown  in  all  our  attempts  to  think 
and  speak  the  truth,  and  to  ascertain  the  exact  princi- 
ples of  distributive  justice?  " 

The  argument  from  design  for  creation  is  often  said 
in  our  day  to  have  lost  its  weight.  For  Clerk  Maxwell, 
however,  this  was  evidently  not  the  case.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  seemed  to  find  in  the  detailed  knowledge  of  the 
ultimate  constituents  of  matter  which  had  come  in  recent 
years,  additional  proofs  of  the  great  design  which  per- 
meates nature.    He  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  not 


354  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

only  were  the  groups  of  atoms  which  make  up  living 
things  so  ordered  as  to  produce  definite  results,  because 
there  was  a  great  purpose  and,  above  all,  a  great  De- 
signer behind  nature,  but  he  also  reached  the  position  that 
the  separate  atoms  of  matter  were  so  ordered  with  regard 
to  one  another,  and  in  that  ordering  were  so  closely  re- 
lated to  corresponding  qualities  in  higher  beings,  that 
only  the  presence  of  a  great  design  in  nature  could  pos- 
sibly account  for  all  these  wonderful  attributes,  which 
were  to  be  found  even  in  the  smallest  portions  of  mat- 
ter. He  said  in  his  article  on  the  atom,  in  the  ninth, 
edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica : 

''What  I  thought  of  was  not  so  much  that  uniformity 
of  result  which  is  due  to  uniformity  in  the  process  of 
formation,  as  a  uniformity  intended  and  accomplished 
by  the  same  wisdom  and  power  of  which  uniformity, 
accuracy,  symmetry,  consistency,  and  continuity  of  plan 
are  as  important  attributes  as  the  contrivance  of  the 
special  utility  of  each  individual  thing." 

Here  is  the  old  argument  for  the  existence  of  God, 
from  the  design  exhibited  in  the  universe,  rehabilitated 
by  its  application  to  the  minutest  portions  of  matter, 
whose  qualities  demand  such  an  explanation  quite  as 
much  as  the  highest  adaptations  of  nature. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  expression  of  all  with  re- 
gard to  the  atoms  that  Clerk  Maxwell  permitted  himself, 
is  that  in  which  he  finds  the  type  of  what  is  best  in  man, 
in  every  minute  portion  of  the  universe,  planted  there 
by  the  Creator  just  as  surely  as  they  are  in  His  high- 
est beings,  because  they  represent  the  most  precious 
qualities  of  His  own  nature  as  they  are  reflected  in  the 
creation  that  He  called  into  existence. 


CLERK  MAXWELL  355 

"They  (the  atoms)  continue  this  day  as  they  were 
created,  perfect  in  number  and  measure  and  weight,  and 
from  the  ineffaceable  characters  impressed  on  them  we 
may  learn  that  those  aspirations,  after  accuracy  in 
measurement,  truth  in  statement,  and  justice  in  action, 
which  we  reckon  among  our  noblest  attributes  as  men, 
are  ours  because  they  are  essential  constituents  of  the 
image  of  Him  Who  in  the  beginning  created  not  only  the 
heaven  and  the  earth,  but  the  materials  of  which  heaven 
and  earth  consist." 

A  very  interesting  side  of  Maxwell's  life  is  that  which 
shows  his  continued  interest  in  literature,  and  even  his 
occasional  dippings  into  poetry.  Though  he  reached 
distinction  in  mathematics  and  physics  so  early  in  his 
career,  he  yet  found  time  to  indulge  a  liking  for  the 
classics,  and  we  even  find  some  rather  good  translations 
of  Horace's  odes  from  his  pen.  The  translation  of  a  part 
of  the  Ajax  of  Sophocles  from  the  Greek  is  a  striking 
testimony  to  the  breadth  of  Maxwell's  intellectual  inter- 
ests. All  during  life,  however,  he  permitted  himself 
occasionally  the  luxury  of  fitting  words  into  verse  forms, 
and  sometimes  with  a  success  that  deserves  much  more 
than  passing  interest.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  fol- 
lowing verses,  for  instance,  which  are  the  first  and  last 
stanzas  of  a  poem  on  the  formula  for  being  happy  in  life 
and  were  meant  to  be  sung  (or  at  least  so  he  would  hint) 
to  the  tune  of  "II  segreto  per  esser  felice,"  will  strike 
many  a  sympathetic  chord  in  the  modern  time. 

There  are  some  folks  that  say 
They  have  found  out  a  way 

To  be  healthy  and  wealthy  and  wise  '.— 
"  Let  your  thoughts  be  but  few. 
Do  as  other  folks  do. 

And  never  be  caught  by  surprise. 


356  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

Let  your  motto  be  follow  the  fashion, 

But  let  other  people  alone  ; 
Do  not  love  them  nor  hate  them  nor  care  for 
their  fate, 

But  keep  a  lookout  for  your  own. 
Then  what  though  the  world  may  run  riot, 

Still  playing  at  catch  who  catch  can. 
You  may  just  eat  your  dinner  in  quiet 

And  live  Hke  a  sensible  man. " 

In  Nature  I  read  quite  a  different  creed, 

There  everything  lives  in  the  rest ; 
Each  feels  the  same  force 
As  it  moves  in  its  course, 

And  all  by  one  blessing  are  blest. 
The  end  that  we  live  for  is  single, 

But  we  labor  not  therefor  alone ; 
For  together  we  feel  how  by  wheel  within  wheel 

We  are  helped  by  a  force  not  our  own. 
So  we  flee  not  the  world  and  its  dangers, 

For  He  that  has  made  it  is  wise  ; 
He  knows  we  are  pilgrims  and  strangers, 

And  He  will  enlighten  our  eyes. 

There  probably  was  not  a  more  nicely  logical  or  more 
accurately  reasoning  intellect  among  all  our  nineteenth 
century  scientists  than  that  of  the  great  mathematical 
electrician.  He  had  none  of  the  one-sidedness  of  the 
merely  experimental  scientist,  nor,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  narrowness  of  the  exclusively  speculative  philoso- 
pher. With  a  power  of  analysis  that  was  seldom  equaled 
during  the  century,  he  had  a  power  of  synthesis  that 
probably  surpassed  any  of  his  contemporaries  in  any 
part  of  Europe.  His  ideas  with  regard  to  matter  and  its 
ultimate  constitution  are  most  suggestive.  His  sugges- 
tion of  a  strain  in  the  ether  as  an  explanation  of  elec- 
tricity, thus  enabling  scientists  to  get  away  from  the 
curious  theories  of  the  foretime  which  had  required  them 
to  accept  "action  at  a  distance, "  that  is,  without  any 


CLERK  MAXWELL  357 

connecting  medium,  shows  his  power  of  following  out 
abstruse  ideas  to  definite  practical  conclusions.  His  re- 
ligious life,  then,  will  be  a  surprise  to  those  who  think 
that  science  leads  men  away  from  religion. 

In  the  life  of  Clerk  Maxwell,  written  by  Campbell  and 
Garnett,^  there  is  a  passage  from  his  friend  and  some- 
time pastor,  Guillemard,  in  which  the  details  of  his  re- 
ligious life  are  given  so  fully  as  scarcely  to  require  any 
further  gleaning  of  information  in  this  regard. 

"He  was  a  constant,  regular  attendant  at  church,  and 
seldom,  if  ever,  failed  to  join  in  our  monthly  late  cele- 
bration of  Holy  Communion,  and  he  was  a  generous 
contributor  to  all  our  parish  charitable  institutions. 
But  his  illness  drew  out  the  whole  heart  and  soul  and 
spirit  of  the  man  ;  his  firm  and  undoubting  faith  in  the 
Incarnation  and  all  its  results ;  in  the  full  sufficing  of 
atonement ;  in  the  works  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  had 
gauged  and  fathomed  all  the  schemes  and  systems  of 
philosophy,  and  had  found  them  utterly  empty  and  un- 
satisfying— '  unworkable '  was  his  own  word  about  them 
—and  he  turned  with  simple  faith  to  the  Gospel  of  the 
Saviour." 

His  faith  was  not  disturbed  at  the  near  approach  of 
death,  but,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  strengthened.  His 
biographers  tell  the  story  of  some  of  the  expressions 
used  to  his  friends  during  these  last  days,  which  furnish 
manifest  proof  of  this.  Some  of  these  passages  are  so 
characteristic  and  so  striking  that  they  deserve  to  be  in 
the  note-book  of  those  to  whom  the  modern  idea  that 
science  is  opposed  to  religion  or  faith  may  sometimes 

1  The  Life  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell,  with  a  selection  from  his  correspondence  and 
occasional  writings,  and  a  sketch  of  his  contributions  to  science.  Lewis  Campbell 
and  William  Garnett.    London,  1882. 


358  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

have  been  a  source  of  worry,  or  at  least  an  occasion  for 
ar^ment.    Here  is  a  typical  one  of  these  passages  : 

**Mr.  Colin  Mackenzie  has  repeated  to  us  two  sayings 
of  his  during  those  last  days,  which  may  be  repeated 
here  :  '  Old  chap,  I  have  read  up  many  queer  religions  ; 
there  is  nothing  like  the  old  thing,  after  all ;  and  I  have 
looked  into  most  philosophical  systems,  and  I  have  seen 
that  none  will  work  without  a  God.'  " 
-  It  must  not  be  imagined,  because  Clerk  Maxwell  was 
a  deeply  religious  man,  that,  therefore,  he  was  frigid 
or  formal  or  extremely  serious,  or  inclined  to  be  puri- 
tanic with  regard  to  the  pleasures  of  life,  or  a  fanatic  in 
the  matter  of  taking  all  the  good-natured  fun  there 
might  be  in  anything  that  turned  up.  He  was  far  from 
over-serious,  or  what  has  been  called,  though  not  quite 
properly,  ascetic ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  was  often,  in- 
deed usually,  the  soul  of  the  party  with  which  he  was  at 
the  moment.  He  had  none  at  all  of  the  self -centered 
interest  of  the  narrow-minded,  but  had  many  friends, 
and  was  liked  by  all  his  acquaintances.  His  friends  were 
enthusiastic  about  his  kindness  of  heart  and  the  thorough 
congeniality  of  his  disposition.  On  this  point,  the 
sketch  of  him  in  the  National  Dictionary  of  Biography 
gives  a  charming  picture  : 

"As  a  man,  Maxwell  was  loved  and  honored  by  all 
who  knew  him ;  to  his  pupils,  he  was  the  kindest  and 
most  sympathetic  of  teachers  ;  to  his  friends,  he  was  the 
most  charming  of  companions,  brimful  of  fun,  the  life 
and  soul  of  a  Red  Lion  dinner  at  the  British  Association 
meetings  ;  but  in  due  season  brave  and  thoughtful,  with 
keen  interest  in  problems  that  lay  outside  the  domain 
of  his  own  work,  and  throughout  his  life  a  stern  foe  to 


CLERK  MAXWELL  359 

all  that  was  superficial  or  untrue.    On  religious  ques- 
tions, his  beliefs  were  strong  and  deeply  rooted." 

It  may  be  added  to  this,  that  his  religion  had  nothing 
of  the  merely  formal  about  it,  nor  was  it  perfunctory. 
It  entered  into  most  of  the  details  of  his  life,  and  the 
fact  that,  every  day  as  the  head  of  the  house  he  led 
evening  prayers  for  the  family,  was  only  a  token  of  the 
deep  hold  which  religion  had  upon  his  life.  When  his 
last  illness  came,  though  he  knew  that  his  end  was  not 
far  off,  and  at  his  age  sometimes  the  approach  of  death 
hampers  religious  faith  because  it  does  seem  that  longer 
life  might  be  afforded  to  one  who  has  been  so  faithful  in 
his  realization  of  the  obligations  of  life.  Clerk  Maxwell's 
piety  increased  rather  than  diminished.  A  favorite  ex- 
pression of  his  during  his  last  days  was  the  verselet  from 
Richard  Baxter,  which  one  would  be  apt  to  think  of  as 
frequently  repeated  by  some  feminine  devotee  rather 
than  by  the  greatest  mathematical  scientist  of  the  nine- 
teenth century : 

"Lord,  it  belongs  not  to  my  care. 
Whether  I  die  or  live  ; 
To  love  and  serve  Thee  is  my  share. 
And  that  Thy  grace  must  give. " 

A  friend  who  knew  him  intimately  says :  "In  private 
life.  Clerk  Maxwell  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  of  men,  a 
sincere  and  unostentatious  Christian.  Though  perfectly 
free  from  any  trace  of  envy  or  ill-will,  he  yet  showed  on 
fit  occasions  his  contempt  for  that  pseudo-science  which 
seeks  for  the  applause  of  the  ignorant  by  professing  to 
reduce  the  whole  system  of  the  universe  to  a  fortuitous 
sequence  of  uncaused  events. ' ' 

In  these  phases  of  his  intellectual  life,  the  greatest  of 
the  mathematical  electricians  of  the  nineteenth  century 


360  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

deserves  to  be  taken  as  the  type  of  the  man  of  science, 
rather  than  the  many  mediocre  intelligences  whose 
minds  were  not  large  enough  apparently  for  the  two  sets 
of  truths— those  of  the  moral  as  well  as  of  the  physical 
order. 


--,  ,„,^. 


X 


LORD  KELVIN 


LORD  KELVIN  361 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Lord  Kelvin. 

Few  men  lived  to  witness  so  many  remarkable  dis- 
coveries in  science  and  so  many  applications  of  the  same 
to  the  welfare  of  the  race  as  did  the  man  whose  name 
stands  at  the  head  of  this  chapter.  When  William 
Thomson,  the  future  Lord  Kelvin,  first  saw  the  light  of 
day,  the  voltaic  pile  was  in  a  rudimentary  and  ineffi- 
cient form.  It  is  true  that  water  had  been  decomposed 
by  the  current  from  a  pile  in  1800,  ^  that  the  magnetic 
effect  of  the  current  had  been  discovered  in  1820,  and 
the  possibility  of  a  practical  form  of  an  electric  tele- 
graph suggested  in  the  same  year  ;  but  Ohm's  law  was 
still  one  of  nature's  secrets,  electromagnetic  induction 
was  undiscovered,  and  the  doctrine  of  energy  but  ill 
understood.  Light,  electricity  and  magnetism  were  re- 
garded as  distinct  forces,  and  heat  was  thought  to  be  a 
material  substance,  to  which  the  name  caloric  was  as- 
signed. What  Young,  Fresnel  and  Ampere  were  in  the 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  what  Faraday, 
Regnault  and  Joseph  Henry  were  some  time  later,  Kel- 
vin became  in  the  'fifties,  a  leader  in  the  intellectual  and 
scientific  life  of  the  time,  a  leader  destined  to  extend 
the  frontiers  of  knowledge,  to  establish  an  accurate  sys- 
tem of  electrical  measurement,  and  to  enrich  the  world 
with  instruments  of  marvelous  ingenuity  and  precision. 

1  Water  was  decomposed  in  1789  by  Van  Troostwijk  and  Cuthberson,  by  means  of 
sparks  from  an  electrical  machine.  Prof.  Ostwald  considers  this  the  first  instance  o£ 
the  decomposition  of  a  chemical  compound  by  electricity. 


362  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

William  Thomson,  born  in  Belfast  in  1824,  received 
his  early  training  in  the  Royal  Academic  Institute  of 
that  city.  When  eight  years  of  age,  he  left  his  native 
land,  exchanging  the  shores  of  Antrim  for  the  banks  of 
the  Clyde.  His  father,  James  Thomson,  a  mathema- 
tician of  note,  having  been  appointed  to  the  chair  of 
mathematics  in  the  University  of  Glasgow  (founded  in 
1451),  proceeded  early  in  the  summer  of  1832  to  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  Scotland,  accompanied  by  his 
two  sons  William  and  James,  both  of  whom  were  des- 
tined to  add  lustre  to  the  family  name. 

After  a  period  of  preparatory  study,  the  two  brothers, 
who  were  ten  and  eleven  years  of  age,  respectively, 
matriculated  at  the  university.  With  the  iron-clad  regu- 
lations that  govern  admission  to  American  colleges  and 
universities,  these  boys  would  at  best  have  been  ad- 
mitted to  one  of  our  high  schools,  and  kept  there  until 
they  reached  the  maturity  required  by  the  age  limit. 
Ey  the  time  young  William  attained  that  limit,  he  had 
already  finished  his  work  at  the  university,  and  cap- 
tured the  first  prizes  in  mathematics,  astronomy  and 
natural  philosophy.  He  was  then  only  sixteen  years  of 
age,  small  of  stature,  but  a  giant  in  intellect ;  brilliant, 
versatile,  and  with  a  passion  for  work.  It  was  his  good 
fortune,  also,  to  come  under  the  influence  of  a  great 
teacher,  in  the  person  of  Prof.  Nichol.  "I  have  to 
thank  what  I  heard  in  the  natural  philosophy  class,"  he 
said  in  1903,  *'  for  all  I  did  in  connection  with  submarine 
cables.  The  knowledge  of  Fourier  was  my  start  in  the 
theory  of  signaling  through  submarine  cables,  which 
occupied  a  large  part  of  my  after-life.  The  inspiring 
character  of  Dr.   Nicholas  personality  and  his  bright 


LORD  KELVIN  363 

enthusiasm  live  still  in  my  mental  picture  of  those  old 
days." 

Having  heard  Fourier's  treatise  on  the  mathematical 
theory  of  heat  spoken  of  one  day  as  a  remarkable  and 
inspiring  work,  young  Thomson  astonished  the  Profes- 
sor when,  at  the  end  of  the  lecture,  he  addressed  Dr. 
Nichol  with  the  query,  "  Do  you  think  that  I  could  read 
it?"  To  which  the  Professor  smilingly  replied  :  "Well, 
the  mathematical  part  is  very  difficult."  Many  a  stu- 
dent would  have  left  Fourier  alone  for  the  nonce,  after 
listening  to  a  statement  so  little  calculated  to  excite 
courage  or  awaken  interest :  but  Thomson  was  not  an 
ordinary  student ;  and,  however  forbidding  the  answer 
which  he  received,  he  was  determined  all  the  same  to 
handle  the  volume  and  seek  its  inspiration.  Without 
delay,  he  got  the  book  from  the  university  library,  and 
grew  so  delighted  with  the  new  ideas  of  the  French 
mathematician  about  sine-expansions  and  cosine-expan- 
sions, that  in  the  space  of  two  weeks  he  had  ' '  turned 
over  all  the  pages  "  of  the  book,  as  he  modestly  put  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1840,  he  accompanied  his  father  and 
his  brother  on  a  tour  through  Germany,  partly  to  see 
the  country  and  partly  also,  to  acquire  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  language.  In  both  these  objects,  he  was 
somewhat  hindered  by  his  fondness  for  mathematical 
studies,  which  led  him  to  include  in  his  impedimenta  for 
the  trip  a  copy  of  Fourier's  Theorie  analytique  de  la 
ChaleuT.  Most  students  out  on  a  summer's  vacation, 
especially  in  foreign  parts,  would  doubtless  have  pre- 
ferred to  give  their  minds  rest  and  congenial  distrac- 
tion rather  than  keep  on  reading  and  pondering  over 
abstract  mathematical  concepts.  Our  young  tourist,  on 
the  other  hand,  seems  to  have  thought  of  little  else  than 


364  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

of  Fourier's  "mathematical  poem,"  as  Clerk  Maxwell 
called  the  work,  a  * '  poem '  *  that  continued  to  have  a 
charm  for  him  all  through  life.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  Thomson  continually  returned  to  the  ideas  and 
methods  of  this  suggestive  treatise  on  the  flow  of  heat, 
and  that  he  applied  them  with  great  success  to  problems 
in  thermal  conductivity,  in  electricity  and  in  submarine 
telegraphy. 

Shortly  after  returning  home,  Thomson  was  sent  to 
the  University  of  Cambridge,  where  he  entered  St. 
Peter's  College,  commonly  called  Peterhouse,  one  of  the 
oldest  colleges  of  the  university,  its  foundation  dating 
back  to  the  year  1284.  Though  he,  no  doubt,  followed 
in  a  general  way  the  directions  given  him  by  William 
Hopkins,  "the  best  of  private  tutors,"  and  kept  in  view 
the  requirements  of  the  honors  examination,  called  the 
"Mathematical  Tripos,"  for  which  he  intended  to  pre- 
sent himself  at  the  end  of  his  course,  he  found  his  studies 
somewhat  routinal  and  uninspiring.  Original  work  was 
more  to  his  taste  than  conventional  subjects  ;  his  tutor, 
however,  thought  mainly  of  placing  this  brilliant  pupil 
at  the  head  of  the  wranglers,  and  hailing  him  the  senior 
wrangler  of  the  year,  for  which  purpose,  the  beaten  track 
must  be  followed,  the  standard  works  read,  favorite  prob- 
lems worked  out,  short-cuts  conned  and  rapidity  of  out- 
put exercised.  Stokes,  of  Pembroke,  had  been  senior 
wrangler  in  1841 ;  Cayley,  of  Trinity,  in  1842 ;  and 
Adams,  of  John's,  in  1843  ;  why  not  Thomson,  of  Peter- 
house,  in  1845,  argued  Hopkins,  who  had  the  distinction 
of  being  second  wrangler  of  the  previous  year? 

But  when  the  ordeal  was  over  and  the  work  of  all 
candidates  appraised,  Thomson's  name  was  second  on 
the  list,  with  Parkinson,  of  John's,  at  the  top.    Hopkins 


•     LORD  KELVIN  365 

was  disappointed,  as  he  had  a  right  to  be,  for  it  was 
thought  by  many  and  said  by  some  that  Parkinson  was 
not  fit  to  sharpen  Thomson's  pencils.  At  the  examin- 
ation for  the  Smith's  prizes,  which  immediately  followed, 
and  which  was  generally  regarded  as  a  higher  honor 
and  a  better  test  of  original  ability,  the  order  was  re- 
versed, and  Thomson's  star  blazed  out  with  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  first  magnitude. 

We  have  here  an  instructive  instance  of  the  failure  of 
an  examination  to  place  rightly  the  most  gifted  man ; 
that  of  Sylvester,  in  1837,  and  Clerk  Maxwell,  in  1854, 
both  of  whom  were  second  wranglers,  are  equally  so. 
Examinations,  however,  seldom  fail  in  justly  rating 
candidates  when  originality  is  not  a  necessary  qualifi- 
cation, but  only  a  sound  knowledge  and  liberal  interpre- 
tation of  the  subjects  laid  down  in  the  syllabus ;  a 
good  memory  and  rapidity  of  writing  will  do  the  rest. 

Thomson  committed  the  fatal  mistake  in  the  tripos 
examination  of  devoting  too  much  time  to  a  particular 
question  in  which  he  was  deeply  interested.  It  was  a 
curious  coincidence  that  the  solution  which  Parkinson 
sent  in  to  the  same  question  was  almost  identical  with 
that  of  his  rival  for  mathematical  honors.  On  being 
-questioned  about  the  matter  by  the  Moderators,  Parkin- 
son said  that  he  had  read  the  solution  some  time  before 
in  the  Cambridge  Mathematical  Journal;  Thomson's 
■explanation  was  that  the  solution  given  in  the  Journal 
was  his !  As  he  had  not  memorized  the  details,  he  was 
obliged  of  course  to  work  the  problem  out  de  novo. 

Parkinson  in  later  years  wrote  a  treatise  on  elemen- 
tary mechanics  that  has  long  since  made  way  for  others ; 
Thomson,  on  the  other  hand,  published  in  collaboration 
with  Tait  a  Treatise  on  Natural  Philosophy  for  advanced 


366  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

students,  which  became  at  once  the  accepted  stand- 
ard. Throughout  this  treatise,  the  view  is  emphasized 
that  physics  deals  with  realities  more  than  with  theories, 
with  mutual  relations  more  than  with  their  mathemat- 
ical expression.  Helmholtz  thought  so  highly  of  this, 
work  that  he  translated  it  into  German,  saying  in  his. 
preface  :  "William  Thomson,  one  of  the  most  penetrat- 
ing and  ingenious  thinkers,  deserves  the  thanks  of  the 
scientific  world,  in  that  he  takes  us  into  the  workshop 
of  his  thoughts  and  unravels  the  guiding  threads  which 
have  helped  him  to  master  and  set  in  order  the  most  re- 
sisting and  confused  material."  And  again :  "Follow- 
ing the  example  given  by  Faraday,  he  avoids  as  far  as 
possible  hypotheses  about  unknown  subjects,  and  en- 
deavors to  express  by  his  mathematical  treatment  of 
problems  simply  the  law  of  observable  phenomena." 

We  are  not  to  think  of  Thomson,  the  undergraduate, 
as  of  one  who  gave  himself  up,  mind  and  body,  to  his 
favorite  studies ;  he  knew  how  to  combine,  in  some 
measure,  the  dtdce  with  the  utile,  for  he  was  fond  of 
music,  and  so  proficient  in  the  art  that  he  was  elected 
President  of  the  Musical  Society.  He  also  took  a  prac- 
tical interest  in  aquatic  sports,  and  on  the  Cam  he  could 
ply  his  sculls  with  the  best  of  the  men.  Indeed,  he  was 
fond  of  the  water  all  through  life,  his  Lalla  Rookh 
being  well  known  on  the  Clyde  and  in  the  Solent. 
Expert  in  the  navigation  of  his  yacht,  he  liked  to  be 
out  on  the  deep,  caressed  by  wind  and  buffeted  by 
wave,  on  which  occasions  he  usually  studied,  pencil  in 
hand,  problems  connected  with  navigation  and  hydro- 
dynamics. 

Thomson  was  never  without  his  note-book.    Even  in" 
his  journeys  to  London,  when  he  usually  took  the  night, 


LORD  KELVIN  367 

train  to  save  time,  his  mind  was  active,  and  the  green- 
book  was  in  frequent  requisition  to  receive  thoughts 
that  occurred  realtive  to  problems  that  engaged  his 
attention.  Unlike  many  mortals,  he  was  able  to  sleep 
soundly  on  those  night  trips,  although  in  the  early  days 
he  had  none  of  the  luxuries  of  traveling  which  we  con- 
sider indispensable  to  our  comfort. 

Helmholtz  records  that,  being  on  the  Lalla  Rookh  on 
one  occasion,  Thomson  "carried  the  freedom  of  in- 
tercourse so  far  that  he  always  had  a  mathematical 
note-book  with  Jiim ;  and  as  soon  as  an  idea  occurred  to 
him,  he  began  to  reckon  right  in  the  midst  of  com- 
pany." This  reminds  us  of  the  answer  which  Newton 
gave  to  a  friend  who  asked  him  how  he  accomplished  so. 
much.  "  By  constantly  thinking  of  it,"  was  the  brief 
reply.  Concentration  of  the  faculties  is  necessary  for 
all  good  work  ;  a  distracted  mind  never  achieved  any- 
thing of  value  in  philosophy,  in  science,  in  religious  wor- 
ship. Concentration  is  like  a  convex  lens,  which  brings 
rays  to  a  focus  ;  whereas  distraction  is  like  a  concave 
lens,  which  breaks  them  up  into  a  number  of  divergent 
and  scattered  elements. 

On  leaving  Cambridge  in  1845,  Thomson  proceeded  to 
London,  and  was  warmly  received  by  Faraday,  then  of 
world-wide  reputation.  He  next  went  to  Paris,  where, 
in  the  laboratory  of  Regnault,  he  devoted  himself  to 
original  research,  under  the  direction  of  that  great  and 
accurate  physicist  who  was  then  carrying  out  his 
classic  work  on  the  thermal  constants  of  bodies. 

The  year  1846  marks  an  epoch  in  Thomson's  life ;  for, 
in  that  year,  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  Nichol,  his 
friend  and  master,  in  the  chair  of  natural  philosophy  in 
the  University  of  Glasgow.    Though  only  in  his  twenty- 


368  MAKERS   OF  ELECTRICITY 

second  year,  he  chose  for  the  subject  of  his  inaugural 
address  the  age  of  the  earth,  a  subject  which  continued 
to  have  a  Hfe-long  interest  for  him  because  of  its  very- 
fascination,  and  perhaps,  too,  because  of  the  opposition 
which  his  views  aroused  on  the  part  of  biologists  and 
geologists.  These  demanded  untold  ^ons  for  the  orig- 
inal fire-mist  to  cool  down  and  form  a  spinning  globe  fit 
to  be  the  abode  of  organic  life,  whereas  Thomson  en- 
deavored to  show  the  weakness  of  the  arguments  which 
they  advanced  to  uphold  their  claim  for  unlimited  time. 
Basing  his  estimate  on  the  rate  of  increase  of  temper- 
ature as  we  go  below  the  earth's  suface,  he  concluded 
that  the  earth  required  from  100  to  200  million  years, 
and  probably  less,  to  cool  from  its  molten  state  to  its 
present  condition. 

Impressed  by  the  value  of  the  experimental  work 
which  he  did  under  Regnault  in  Paris,  Prof.  Thomson 
gave  himself  no  rest  until  he  secured  a  place  in  which 
the  demonstrations  of  the  lecture-room  could  be  sup- 
plemented by  qualitative  and  quantitative  work  in  the 
laboratory.  This  was  the  first  "physical  laboratory" 
open  to  students  in  Great  Britain,  a  fact  that  makes  the 
year  1846  a  memorable  one  in  the  history  of  university 
development.  Two  apartments  were  allotted  him  for 
experimental  purposes,  viz.,  an  abandoned  wine-cellar 
and  a  disused  examination-room,  to  which,  as  time 
went  on,  were  added  a  corridor,  some  spare  attics,  and 
even  the  university  tower  itself,  so  great  was  the  power 
of  annexation  possessed  by  the  young  Professor.  In 
those  dark  and  cheerless  rooms,  a  few  old  instruments 
were  installed,  after  which  students  were  invited  and 
work  begun.  A  band  of  men,  whose  ardor  was  enkin- 
dled by  the  glowing  enthusiasm  of  the  presiding  genius, 


LORD  KELVIN  369 

gathered  around  him,  and  helped  him  to  carry  out  in- 
vestigations on  the  properties  of  metals,  on  moduli  of 
elasticity,  elastic  fatigue  and  atmospheric  electricity. 
Among  .this  band  of  earnest  students  it  will  suffice  to 
mention  the  names  of  the  late  Prof.  Ayrton,  an  eminent 
electrician ;  Prof.  John  Perry,  known  for  his  Homeric 
battles  in  favor  of  reform  in  the  teaching  of  math- 
ematics ;  Sir  William  Ramsay,  the  discoverer  of  the 
** newer"  gases  of  the  atmosphere  ;  and  Prof.  Andrew 
Gray,  who  succeeded  his  master  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow. 

Writing  of  his  laboratory  experiences,  Prof,  Ramsay 
says  :  "I  remember  that  my  first  exercise,  which  occu- 
pied over  a  week,  was  to  take  the  kinks  out  of  a  bundle 
of  copper  wire.  Having  achieved  this  with  some  success, 
I  was  placed  opposite  a  quadrant  electrometer  and  made 
to  study  its  construction  and  use."  ''Although  this 
method,"  he  adds,  "is  not  without  its  disadvantages— 
for  systematic  instruction  is  of  much  value— there  is 
something  to  be  said  for  it.  On  the  one  hand,  too  long 
a  course  of  experimenting  on  old  and  well  known  lines 
is  likely  to  imbue  the  young  student  with  the  idea  that 
all  physics  consists  in  learning  the  use  of  apparatus  and 
repeating  measurements  which  have  already  been  made. 
On  the  other  hand,  too  early  attempts  to  investigate 
the  unknown  are  likely  to  prove  fruitless  for  want  of 
manipulative  skill  and  for  want  of  knowledge  of  what 
has  already  been  done." 

Prof.  Gray  wrote  :  "  In  the  physical  laboratory.  Prof. 
Thomson  was  both  inspiring  and  distracting.  He  con- 
tinually thought  of  new  things  to  be  tried,  and  inter- 
rupted the  course  of  work  with  interpolated  experiments 


370  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

which  often  robbed  the  previous  sequence  of  operations 
of  their  final  result." 

It  may  bring  a  grain  of  consolation  to  teachers  who 
meet  with  troublesome  elements  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  to  know  that  Thomson,  great  and  brilliant  as  he 
was,  had  similar  experiences  now  and  again.  At  one 
time  a  book  of  mathematical  data  would  be  removed 
from  the  place  assigned  to  it,  upon  which  he  would  give 
orders  that  it  should  be  chained  to  the  table  ;  at  others, 
there  would  be  no  chalk  near  the  blackboard,  and  then 
the  assistant  would  be  solemnly  instructed  to  have  one 
hundred  pieces  available  next  time.  On  one  occasion, 
he  settled  in  a  very  novel  manner  the  case  of  a  student 
who  insisted  on  disturbing  the  class  by  moving  his  foot 
back  and  forth  on  the  floor.  Calling  his  assistant, 
Thomson  told  him  in  a  whisper  to  go  down  into  the  room 
under  the  tiers  of  seats,  to  listen  attentively,  and  locate 
the  wandering  foot  by  its  distance  from  two  adjacent 
walls  of  the  building.  On  his  return  to  the  lecture-room, 
the  triumphant  assistant  gave  the  desired  coordinates  to 
the  Professor,  who  took  out  his  tape  at  once  and  meas- 
ured off  the  distances,  by  which  the  outwitted  offender 
was  mathematically  located.  In  obedience  to  orders,  the 
latter  rose  and  left  the  room,  muttering  a  few  grace- 
ful epithets  as  he  went,  in  honor  of  Descartes,  the 
founder  of  a  system  of  geometry  that  could  serve  so 
well  the  twofold  purpose  of  the  detective  and  the 
mathematician. 

It  was  the  custom  in  Glasgow  to  open  the  daily  ses- 
sions, morning  and  afternoon,  with  prayer,  the  selection 
of  which  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Professor. 
Thomson  usually  recited  from  memory  the  third  collect 
from  the  morning  service  of  the  Church  of  England,  to 


LORD  KELVIN  371 

which  he  sometimes  added  reflections  of  his  own  for 
the  spiritual  benefit  of  his  hearers. 

In  his  teaching,  Prof.  Thomson  was  particularly- 
insistent  that  his  students  should  not  bow  their  intel- 
lects in  mute  admiration  before  an  array  of  mathematical 
symbols ;  but  that,  on  all  occasions,  they  should  seek 
the  physical  meaning  behind  them.  Writing  on  his 
blackboard  one  day  dxjdt,  he  was  not  satisfied  when 
told  that  it  represented  the  ratio  of  the  increment  of  x  to 
the  increment  of  the  independent  variable  t  (time)  ;  he 
wanted  the  student  to  say  it  represents  velocity.  He 
himself  was  so  wont  to  look  for  the  physical  meaning 
of  symbols  that,  like  the  prophets  of  old,  he  saw  many 
things  that  were  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  ordinary 
mortals. 

He  had  the  rare  gift  of  translating  mathematical 
equations  into  real  facts  ;  and  he  strove  all  throughout 
his  life,  by  word  and  writing,  to  purify  mathematical 
theory  from  mere  assumptions.  He  often  said  that  he 
could  not  understand  a  thing  until  he  was  able  to  make^ 
or  at  least  conceive,  a  model  of  it. 

H«  had  a  "keen  mathematical  instinct,"  as  Prof. 
Silvanus  P.  Thomson  puts  it  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  an 
insight  that  * '  grew  to  see  things. ' '  He  often  left  matters 
in  the  dark  for  years,  then  returned  to  see  them  in  the 
clear  light  of  truth.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  wrote  a 
mathematical  essay  on  the  figure  of  the  earth ;  and  at 
eighty-three,  took  it  up  again  in  order  to  add  a  note  to 
the  argument ! 

Thomson  was  discursive  in  his  lectures,  and  was 
never  able  to  boil  the  matter  down  to  suit  the  taste  and 
digestive  powers  of  the  ordinary  student.  The  activity 
of  his  mind  and  its  fecundity  were  such  that  new  ideas. 


372  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

new  problems,  new  modes  of  treatment  were  continually 
occurring,  and  with  such  fascination  that  he  would 
leave  the  main  subject  to  indulge  in  what  often  proved 
prolonged  digressions.  One  of  his  bugbears  was  our 
system  of  weights  and  measures,  which  he  denounced 
in  season  and  out  of  season  as  "insane,"  "brain-wast- 
ing" and  "dangerous."  Occasionally  epithets  of  a 
more  caloric  nature  would  escape  the  lips  of  the  in- 
dignant Professor,  who,  as  a  consequence  of  his  de- 
nunciation, had  always  to  be  indulgent  to  students  who 
chanced  to  be  shaky  in  the  matter  of  Troy  weight, 
avoirdupois  weight  or  even  apothecaries  weight. 

In  later  years,  I  heard  Lord  Kelvin  at  the  Royal  In- 
stitution, London,  on  some  of  his  favorite  dynamical 
subjects,  such  as  the  gyrostat,  vortex  rings  and  the 
like.  However  impressed  by  his  keen  eye,  intellectual 
forehead,  his  mastery  of  the  subject  and  wealth  of 
illustration,  I  was  no  less  impressed  by  his  vivacity,  his 
enthusiasm  and  the  rapidity  with  which  he  could  leave 
a  train  of  thought  and  return  to  it  again. 

At  meetings  of  the  British  Association,  he  always  had 
something  illuminating  to  say ;  but  not  infrequently, 
carried  away  by  a  torrent  of  ideas,  he  would  indulge  in 
a  superfluity  of  detail,  forgetting  that  other  speakers 
had  to  be  heard  and  other  papers  read. 

The  idea  of  connecting  the  Old  World  with  the  New 
by  means  of  an  electric  cable  laid  on  the  bed  of  the 
ocean,  seemed  to  most  people  in  the  'fifties  quixotic  and 
Utopian.  Manufacturers  said  such  a  cable  could  not  be 
made ;  engineers,  that  it  could  not  be  laid  ;  electricians, 
that  it  could  not  be  worked  ;  and  financiers,  that  if  laid 
and  worked,  it  would  never  pay.  But  with  a  Field  to 
look  after  the  financial  interests  of  the  scheme,  and  a 


LORD  KELVIN  373 

Thomson  to  attend  to  electrical  quantities,  there  was  no 
tilting  at  windmills,  and  the  Utopian  scheme  became  in 
due  time  the  cable  whose  core  pulsated  with  the  news 
of  the  world. 

As  early  as  1850,  Bishop  Mullock,  of  St.  John's,  N. 
F.,  addressed  to  an  American  newspaper,  called  the 
Courier,  a  letter  in  which  he  advocated  a  telegraph 
line  from  Newfoundland  to  New  York,  so  that  the  news 
of  mail  steamers  could  be  intercepted  and  wired  to  that 
City.  In  1852,  the  "Newfoundland  Electric  Telegraph 
Company  "  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  a 
similar  plan.  This  was  to  be  accompHshed  by  means  of 
a  telegraph  line  from  Cape  Race,  at  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  Newfoundland  to  Cape  Ray,  on  the  western, 
as  well  as  by  short  cables  over  to  Cape  Breton  Island,  to 
Prince  Edward  Island  and  the  mainland,  and  thence  by 
ordinary  telegraph  lines  to  Canada  and  the  United 
States.  But  owing  to  the  want  of  money,  nothing  was 
done. 

The  first  attempt  at  laying  a  cable  under  the  Atlantic 
was  made  by  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  in  1857, 
after  a  careful  survey  of  the  ocean  had  revealed  the  ex- 
istence of  a  submarine  plain,  or  extended  table-land,  on 
which  the  cable  could  rest  undisturbed  by  passing  keels, 
monsters  of  the  deep  or  angry  billows.  The  result  was 
the  first  of  a  series  of  failures,  which  caused  great  per- 
plexity and  depression  at  the  time  ;  for,  after  330  miles 
had  been  paid  out  from  Valentia  on  the  Irish  coast,  the 
cable  suddenly  parted,  burying  in  2000  fathoms  of  water 
an  electrical  conductor  which  had  cost  $150,000  for  its 
manufacture. 

A  second  attempt  was  made  in  1858,  when  the  U.  S. 
frigate  Niagara  and  H.  M.  S.  Agamemnon,  each  carry- 


374  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

ing  half  of  the  cable,  met  in  mid-ocean;  and,  after 
splicing  the  two  ends  together,  steamed  away  in  opposite 
directions,  the  Niagara  toward  Newfoundland  and  the 
Agamemnon  toward  Valentia.  Fortunately  for  the  en- 
terprise, Prof.  Thomson  was  on  board  the  English  ship  as 
chief  electrician.  No  doubt,  his  mind  turned  many  a 
time  during  those  anxious  days  to  Fourier's  differential 
equation  for  the  flow  of  heat  along  a  conductor,  and  his 
own  application  of  it  to  the  conduction  of  the  electric 
current  through  the  copper  core  of  the  cable  as  it  came 
up  from  the  tanks,  trailed  out  behind  the  ship,  dipped 
silently  into  the  blue  water  and  slowly  settled  down  to 
its  bed  of  ooze  on  the  ocean  floor. 

After  a  series  of  disheartening  mishaps,  necessitating 
as  many  returns  of  the  ships  to  the  rendezvous  in  mid- 
ocean,  the  Agamemnon  landed  the  shore-end  safely  in 
"Valentia ;  and  the  Niagara,  after  rolling  and  pitching 
for  days  and  nights  in  tempestuous  seas,  landed  hers  in 
Trinity  Bay  on  the  morning  of  August  5th,  1858,  on 
which  historic  date  the  telegraphic  union  of  the  two 
worlds  was  finally  consummated  and  the  great  feat  of 
the  century  accomplished. 

Though  not  fully  realized  at  the  time  by  the  capitalists 
who  financed  his  scheme,  by  the  engineers  and  elec- 
tricians who  carried  it  out,  or  even  by  statesmen,  econr- 
omists  and  social  reformers,  the  slender  copper  cord, 
buried  away  from  human  ken  amidst  the  debris  of 
minute  organisms,  was  destined  to  effect  a  revolution  in 
the  affairs  of  men  greater  than  any  achieved  by  the 
wisdom  of  sages  or  the  policy  of  legislators. 

Owing  to  the  electrostatic  capacity  of  the  cable,  sig- 
naling would  have  been  difficult  and  unsatisfactory  had 
it  not  been  for  the  resourcefulness  of  Prof.  Thomson, 


LORD  KELVIN  375 

who  devised  his  reflecting  galvanometer  to  serve  as 
receiving  instrument.  The  principle  of  the  mirror  ap- 
plied in  this  way  was  not  new,  for  it  had  been  suggested 
by  Poggendorff  and  even  used  by  Gauss  in  connection 
with  very  heavy  magnets.  The  magnets  used  by  Thom- 
son, on  the  other  hand,  were  strips  of  watch-spring 
weighing  about  a  grain  each,  so  that  even  a  very  weak 
current  coming  through  the  cable  would  be  sufficient  to 
produce  strong  displacements  of  the  spot  of  light  on  the 
scale.  Thomson  was  clearly  the  first  to  insist  on  small 
dimensions  in  magnetic  instruments,  and  to  show  that 
reduction  in  size  would  be  attended  with  corresponding 
increase  in  sensitiveness. 

The  mirror  galvanometer,  surrounded  with  a  thick 
iron  case  to  screen  it  from  the  magnetic  field  due  to  the 
iron  of  the  ship,  the  "iron-clad galvanometer  "  as  it  was 
called,  was  used  for  the  first  time  on  the  telegraphic 
expedition  of  1858. 

The  instrument  itself,  which  was  fitted  up  on  board 
the  Niagara  and  which  was  connected  with  so  many 
episodes  of  thrilling  interest,  was  placed  by  Prof.  Thom- 
son in  the  collection  of  historical  apparatus  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow,  where  it  is  at  the  present  day. 

Beautiful  as  was  the  invention  of  the  mirror  galvan- 
ometer, it  gave  neither  warning  of  the  beginning  of  a 
message  nor  a  permanent  record  of  it.  Sitting  in  his 
dark  room,  the  operator  had  to-  be  always  on  the  alert 
for  the  first  swing  of  the  spot  of  light  over  the  scale. 
To  obviate  these  drawbacks,  Thomson,  after  some  think- 
ing and  more  talking  with  his  friend  White,  of  Glasgow, 
finally  patented  the  siphon-recorder,  in  which  a  glass 
siphon  of  capillary  dimensions  is  pulled  to  the  right  or 
left  by  the  action  of  the  current  fiowing  through  a  light 


376  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

movable  coil,  and  is  thus  made  ix)  register  signals  in  ink 
on  a  vertical  strip  of  paper  which  is  kept  in  uniform 
motion  by  a  train  of  clockwork.  It  is  by  this  simple 
but  very  ingenious  instrument  that  messages  are  re- 
ceived and  recorded  to-day  at  all  the  cable-stations  of 
the  world. 

The  inaugural  message  through  the  cable  came  from 
the  Directors  of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  in 
Great  Britain  to  the  Directors  in  America,  saying : 
' '  Europe  and  America  are  united  by  telegraph ;  glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace  and  good  will  toward 
men." 

The  message  from  Queen  Victoria  to  President  Bu- 
chanan, consisting  of  95  words,  took  67  minutes  in  trans- 
mission ;  it  read : 

"The  Queen  desires  to  congratulate  the  President 
upon  the  successful  completion  of  this  great  international 
work,  in  which  the  Queen  has  taken  the  deepest  interest. 

"The  Queen  is  convinced  that  the  President  will  join 
with  her  in  fervently  hoping  that  the  electric  cable 
which  now  connects  Great  Britain  with  the  United  States 
will  prove  an  additional  link  between  the  nations  whose 
friendship  is  founded  upon  their  common  interests  and 
reciprocal  esteem. 

' '  The  Queen  has  much  pleasure  in  thus  communicating 
with  the  President,  and  renewing  to  him  her  wishes  for 
the  prosperity  of  the  United  States." 

The  reply  of  President  Buchanan  was  as  follows : 

"The  President  cordially  reciprocates  the  congratula- 
tions of  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  on  the  success  of  the 
great  international  enterprise  accomplished  by  the 
science,  skill  and  indomitable  energy  of  the  two  coun- 
tries.   It  is  a  triumph  more  glorious,  because  far  more 


LORD  KELVIN  377 

useful  to  mankind,  than  was  ever  won  by  conqueror  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

''May  the  Atlantic  telegraph,  under  the  blessing  of 
Heaven,  prove  to  be  a  bond  of  perpetual  peace  and 
friendship  between  the  kindred  nations,  and  an  instru- 
ment destined  by  Divine  Providence  to  diffuse  religion, 
civilization,  liberty  and  law  throughout  the  world.  In 
this  view  will  not  all  nations  of  Christendom  spontan- 
eously unite  in  the  declaration  that  it  shall  be  forever 
neutral,  and  that  its  communications  shall  be  held  sacred 
in  passing  to  their  places  of  destination,  even  in  the 
midst  of  hostilities?  " 

The  historian  of  the  enterprise  was  Mr.  John  Mullaly, 
of  New  York,  who  was  on  the  Niagara  as  secretary  to 
Prof.  Morse  and  subsequently  to  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field 
and  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald.  He  has 
published  three  interesting  works  on  the  subject :  a  Trip 
to  Newfoundland,  with  an  account  of  the  laying  of  the 
submarine  Cable  (between  Port  au  Basque  and  North 
Sydney),  1855  ;  The  Ocean  Telegraph,  1858  ;  and  The  first 
Atlantic  Telegraph  Cable,  a  pamphlet  of  28  pages,  re- 
printed from  the  "Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute," 
1907.  From  it,  we  learn  that  Archbishop  Hughes  was 
one  of  the  principal  American  subscribers  to  the  capital 
of  the  Atlantic  Cable  Company. 

When,  in  1855,  the  subject  of  laying  a  cable  under  the 
Atlantic  ocean  began  to  be  seriously  considered,  Thom- 
son, who  was  then  only  31  years  of  age,  discussed  in  a 
series  of  masterly  papers  the  theory  of  signaling  through 
such  conductors,  showing  inter  alia  that  the  instruments 
used  on  land-lines  would  be  inoperative  on  cables,  and 
also  that  the  same  speed  of  transmission  could  not  be 
attained  on  cables  as  on  ordinary  telegraph  lines.    It 


■378  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

was  shown  at  the  same  time,  that  these  differences  are 
due  to  the  fact  that,  unhke  an  air-line,  the  cable  is  an 
electrical  condenser  in  which  the  copper  core  is  separated 
from  the  waters  of  the  ocean  by  a  layer  of  ^tta  percha, 
a  nonconducting  material.  As  a  submerged  cable  is, 
therefore,  along  Leyden  jar  of  great  electrical  capacity, 
it  follows  that  a  signal  sent  in  at  the  American  end  will 
not  reach  the  other  instantly ;  for  while  the  current  flows 
along  the  conductor,  it  has  also  to  charge  up  the  cable 
as  it  progresses,  which  operation  retards  the  signals, 
and  also  deprives  them  of  the  clearness  and  sharpness 
with  which  they  were  sent.  The  phenomenon  is  analo-- 
gous  to  the  diffusion  of  heat  along  a  bar,  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  various  cross-sections  rising  in  gradual  suc- 
cession until  the  distant  end  is  reached.  The  mathe- 
matical investigations  of  Thomson  showed  the  necessity 
of  working  slowly,  and  of  using  weak  currents  as  well 
as  very  delicate  receiving  instruments.  The  interval  of 
time  required  for  the  transmission  of  a  signal  from  New- 
foundland to  Valentia  is  about  one  second. 

Some  years  later,  in  1858,  Thomson  had  the  opportun- 
ity of  putting  his  theoretical  views  to  the  test  of  experi- 
ment on  a  grand,  commercial  scale,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  finding  that  all  his  conclusions  were  confirmed. 
Electricians  of  the  early  period  distrusted  the  inex- 
perienced young  man  who  had  never  erected  a  mile 
of  telegraph  line  or  even  served  for  a  month  in  a  tele- 
graph office  ;  but  their  distrust  was  followed  by  admira- 
tion when  they  saw  the  efficient  manner  in  which  he 
handled  every  problem  and  dealt  with  every  difficulty 
that  occurred  while  laying  the  cable  of  1858.  It  was 
generally  admitted  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  brilliant 
work  of  the  young  Glasgow  Professor,   many  years 


LORD  KELVIN  379 

would  have  passed  away  before  the  Old  World  and  the 
New  would  have  been  brought  into  telegraphic  com- 
munication. 

Like  all  interested  in  the  enterprise,  Thomson  was 
greatly  shocked  when  the  news  reached  him  that  signals 
could  no  longer  be  transmitted  through  the  cable,  which, 
after  costing  so  much  money,  so  much  thought  and 
labor,  now  lay  a  useless  thing  in  two  and  a  half  miles 
of  water.  Attempts  were  made  to  raise  it,  but  with- 
out success. 

During  its  short  life  of  less  than  a  month,  366  mes- 
sages were  flashed  through  the  cable,  aggregating  4359 
words  of  21,421  letters. 

The  failure  of  the  pioneer  cable  has  been  attributed 
to  a  variety  of  causes,  chief  of  which  were  defective 
construction  and  imperfect  paying-out  machinery,  which 
produced  unequal  strains  in  the  cable.  Defective 
as  the  cable  was  at  the  moment  of  immersion,  the  var- 
ious troubles  became  intensified  with  time,  until  at  last, 
when  provoked  by  the  feebleness  of  the  signals,  the  in- 
judicious electrician  at  Valentia  had  recourse  to  the 
great  penetrative  power  of  the  induction  coil,  and 
gave  the  dying  cable  the  coup  de  grace. 

An  experiment  made  by  Mr.  Latimer  Clark  is  not  only 
germane  to  the  subject,  but  is  also  of  very  great  in- 
terest. Writing  from  Valentia  on  Sept.  12th,  1866,  Mr. 
Latimer  Clark  says  :  "With  a  single  galvanic  cell,  com- 
posed of  a  few  drops  of  acid  in  a  silver  thimble^  and  a 
fragment  of  zinc,  weighing  a  grain  or  two,  conversation 
may  easily,  though  slowly,  be  carried  on  through  one 
of  the  cables  (1865,  1866)  or  through  the  two  joined  to- 

1  The  thimble  was  borrowed  from  Miss  Fitzgrerald,  daughter  of  the  Knight  of 
'Kerry,  who  was  living:  at  Valentia. 


380  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

gether  at  Newfoundland ;  and  although  in  the  latter 
case,  the  spark,  twice  traversing  the  breadth  of  the 
Atlantic,  has  to  pass  through  3700  miles  of  cable,  its 
effects  at  the  receiving  end  are  visible  in  the  galvan- 
ometer in  a  little  more  than  a  second  after  contact  is 
made  with  the  battery.  The  deflections  are  not  of  a 
dubious  character,  but  full  and  long,  the  spot  of  light 
traversing  freely  a  space  of  12  in.  or  13  in.  on  the  scale  ; 
and  it  is  manifest  that  a  battery  many  times  smaller 
would  suffice  to  produce  similar  effects," 

Not  to  be  outdone  by  the  English  electrician,  Mr. 
William  Dickerson  devised  the  gun-cap  cell,  which  he 
used  in  1866  with  success  in  transmitting  signals  from 
Heart's  Content,  Newfoundland,  to  Valentia  on  the 
Irish  coast. 

A  piece  of  No.  16  bare  copper  wire  was  procured,  one 
end  of  which  was  firmly  twisted  around  the  head  of  an 
empty  percussion-cap.  To  one  end  of  another  similar 
length  of  wire  was  bound,  with  fine  copper  wire,  a  short 
strip  of  zinc  bent  at  a  right  angle  to  form  the  anode 
element  of  the  diminutive  cell.  After  charging  the  cell 
with  a  drop  of  acidulated  water  of  the  size  of  an  ordi- 
nary well-formed  tear,  and  properly  connecting  the 
terminals  with  earth  and  cable,  signals  were  transmit- 
ted over  the  cable  by  the  infinitesimal  current  generated 
by  this  novel  cell.  The  receiving  operator  reported  that 
the  signals  were  "awfully  small"  ;  but  they  were  in- 
telligible, and  messages  were  successfully  transmitted 
under  the  ocean  by  this  tiny  element. 

Contrast  with  this  Lilliputian  cell  the  enormous  power 
that  was  used  on  the  cable  of  1858  toward  the  end  of  its 
short  existence,  when  batteries  of  380  and  420  Daniell 
cells  were  employed  to  force  signals  across. 


LORD  KELVIN  381 

When,  in  1865,  it  was  decided  to  make  another  attempt 
at  laying  a  cable  under  the  Atlantic,  Prof.  Thomson, 
whose  reputation  was  enhanced  during  the  seven  inter- 
vening years  by  a  number  of  communications  on  the 
theory  and  practice  of  submarine  telegraphy,  was  again 
retained  as  scientific  expert  in  a  consultative  sense,  with 
Mr.  Cromwell  F.  Varley  as  chief  electrician.  In  accord- 
ance with  the  costly  experience  that  had  been  gained, 
a  new  cable  was  made  and  coiled  on  board  the  Great 
Eastern,^  a  leviathan  which  was  well  fitted  for  the  work 
by  the  great  manoeuvring  power  afforded  by  its  screw 
and  paddles  combined.  Leaving  Valentia,  the  big  ship 
steamed  with  her  prow  to  the  west  at  a  slow  rate  of 
speed,  in  order  to  give  the  cable  time  to  sink  beneath 
the  waves  and  adapt  itself  to  the  configuration  of  the 
ocean  floor.  Eleven  hundred  miles  had  been  success- 
fully paid  out  when,  to  the  consternation  of  all,  the 
cable  suddenly  snapped  and  disappeared  in  more  than 
two  miles  of  water.  Attempts  were  made  during  the 
next  nine  days  to  recover  it  from  those  abysmal  depths  ; 
and,  though  grappled  many  times  during  those  trying 
hours,  it  gave  way  each  time  under  the  strain  to  which 
it  was  subjected.  Like  its  predecessors  of  1857  and 
1858,  the  cable  of  1865  was  finally  abandoned  to  its  fate, 
and  the  Great  Eastern  returned  home  with  three 
greatly  disappointed  men  on  board,  viz.,  Prof.  Thom- 
son, Mr.  C.  F.  Varley  and  Captain  (later  Sir  James) 
Anderson. 

In  the  following  year,  a  sum  of  three-quarters  of  a 
million  sterling,  nearly  $4,000,000,  was  offered  to  the 
Directors  of  the  ''Telegraph  Construction  Company  "  if 
they  would  complete  the  cable  of  1865  and  lay  a  new 

1  Broken  up  a  few  years  ago  for  scrap  iron. 


382  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

one.  After  consultation  and  careful  consideration,  the 
offer  was  accepted  and  the  cable  constructed  according- 
to  the  best  engineering  knowledge  available. 

In  1866,  Prof.  Thomson  was  again  on  board  the  Great 
Eastern  with  Captain  Anderson ;  and  this  time  the 
big  ship  had  snugly  coiled  up  in  her  deep,  cavernous 
tanks  the  cable  that  was  destined  to  put  Europe  and 
America  in  permanent  telegraphic  communication. 
With  a  well-manufactured  cable,  improved  paying-out 
machinery  and  an  experienced  staff  of  mechanical  en- 
gineers, not  to  mention  the  foremost  electricians  of  the 
day,  the  immersion  of  the  cable  was  successfully  effect- 
ed, after  which  the  American  end  of  the  cable  of  1865 
was  raised,  a  new  length  spliced  on,  and  the  shore-end 
safely  landed  in  Trinity  Bay.  Europe  and  America 
were  thus  united  together  by  two  electric  bonds. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  ocean  cables  are 
usually  made  in  three  sections,  called,  respectively,  the 
shore-end,  the  intermediate  section  and  the  deep-sea 
section.  It  is  clear  that  the  submerged  conductor  needs 
the  greatest  protection  in  the  shallow  water  that  sur- 
rounds the  coast,  where  it  lies  on  a  pebbly  or  rocky  bot- 
tom, exposed  to  the  drifting  action  of  currents  and 
tides,  as  well  as  to  the  haling  flukes  of  the  anchors  of 
storm-tossed  ships.  In  deep  water,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  neither  shingly  bottom  nor  violent  movement 
to  displace  and  abrade  the  cable ;  for  all  is  quiet  and 
peaceful  in  the  profound  depths  where  the  god  of  the- 
trident  holds  his  court ;  and  hence  few  coverings  and 
a  light  armor  afford  sufficient  protection.  The  wear  and 
tear  in  the  ocean  depths  is  a  vanishing  quantity  when 
compared  with  the  abrasive  effects  near  coast-lines. 
Looking  at  the  sections  of  an  ocean  cable,  the  biggest 


LORD  KELVIN  383 

and  heaviest  is  the  shore-end,  while  the  thinnest  and 
lightest  is  that  which  goes  down  into  the  depths  of  the 
sea.  The  lengths  of  the  various  sections  are  determined 
by  the  survey  of  the  route,  which  is  always  carefully 
made  before  completing  the  specification  of  the  cable. 
Moreover,  as  the  position  of  the  cable-ship  at  noon  every 
day  is  known  from  its  longitude  and  latitude,  it  follows 
that  the  location  of  the  cable  on  the  bed  of  the  ocean  is 
also  exactly  known.  When  a  cable  is  broken  either  by 
an  upheaval  or  by  a  subsidence  of  the  ocean  floor,  the 
distance  of  the  rupture  from  the  shore  end  is  determined- 
by  an  electrical  test,  after  which  a  repair-ship  is  dis- 
patched to  the  spot,  when  the  cable  is  lifted,  the 
"fault"  cut  away,  a  new  length  spliced  on,  and  the 
amended  cable  allowed  to  settle  down  into  its  watery 
depths. 

At  the  present  time  (July,  1909),  there  are  sixteen 
cables  carrying  the  work  of  the  North  Atlantic,  at  an 
average  speed  of  20  words  a  minute  duplex,  or  40  words 
a  minute,  counting  both  directions. 

This  cable  narrative  affords  as  striking  an  illustration 
of  the  triumph  of  failure  as  any  recorded  in  the  history 
of  human  enterprise.  It  was  a  victory  of  mind  over 
matter  ;  of  character  and  tactfulness,  energy  and  endur- 
ance over  difficulties  of  every  kind,  moral  and  financial, 
mechanical  and  meteorological.  The  four  expeditions  of 
1857,  1858,  1865  and  1866  represent  years  of  hard  work, 
anxiety  and  distressing  failures  ;  but,  sustained  by  the 
patience  of  hope  and  by  an  unshaken  confidence  in  the 
soundness  of  the  enterprise  as  well  as  in  the  ability  of 
their  staff,  the  Directors  of  the  Atlantic  Company  were 
well  rewarded  for  the  disappointment  occasioned  and 
the  monetary  losses  incurred.     "It  has  been  a  long 


384  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

struggle,"  said  the  initial  promoter  of  the  enterprise, 
Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field,  speaking  at  a  banquet  given  in  his 
honor  on  November  15th,  1866,  at  the  Metropolitan 
Hotel,  New  York,  "a,  long  struggle  of  nearly  thirteen 
years  of  anxious  watching  and  ceaseless  toil.  Often  my 
heart  was  ready  to  sink.  Many  times,  when  wandering 
in  the  forests  of  Newfoundland  in  pelting  rain,  or  on 
the  decks  of  ships  in  dark,  stormy  nights,  I  almost  ac- 
cused myself  of  madness  and  folly  to  sacrifice  the  peace 
of  my  family  for  what  might  have  proved  but  a  dream. 
I  have  seen  my  companions,  one  after  another,  fall  by 
my  side,  and  I  feared  that  I,  too,  might  not  live  to  see 
the  end.  And  yet  one  hope  has  led  me  on ;  I  prayed 
that  I  might  not  taste  of  death  till  the  work  was  accom- 
plished. That  prayer  has  been  answered  ;  and  now, 
beyond  all  acknowledgments  to  men,  is  the  feeling  of 
gratitude  to  Almighty  God.'* 

It  was  men  like  Field  and  Thomson  that  the  poet  had 
in  mind  when  he  wrote  : 

The  wise  and  active  conquer  difficulties 
By  daring  to  attempt  them.     Sloth  and  folly 
Shiver  and  shrink  at  sight  of  toil  and  labor. 
And  make  the  impossibility  they  fear. 

Shortly  after  his  return  home.  Prof.  Thomson  was 
knighted  for  his  splendid  services  in  connection  with 
sub-oceanic  cables,  and  was  also  honored  with  the  free- 
dom of  the  City  of  Glasgow. 

If  while  journeying  over  land  or  sea.  Sir  WilHam's 
mind  was  always  active,  his  eyes  were  also  open  and 
observant.  In  the  numerous  voyages  which  he  under- 
took in  the  interest  of  cable  companies,  he  seems  to  have 
heen  struck  by  the  unreliable  character  of  the  ordinary 
apparatus  used  in  taking  soundings,  consisting  of  a 


LORD  KELVIN  385 

heavy  weight  suspended  by  a  thick  hempen  cord  un- 
wound from  a  reel.  Owing  to  the  massiveness  of  the 
cord,  the  motion  of  the  ship  and  currents  in  the  water 
would  necessarily  deflect  it  from  the  vertical,  so  that  the 
soundings  recorded  would  be  in  excess  of  the  true  depth. 
To  remedy  this  defect,  Thomson  replaced  the  rope,  at 
first  by  a  steel  wire,  and  later  by  a  thin  strand  of  steel 
wires,  on  which  the  speed  of  the  ship  has  but  little 
effect ;  the  sinker  descends  vertically  with  considerable 
velocity,  and  is  raised  with  equal  rapidity  by  suitable 
winding-up  machinery  placed  in  the  stem  of  the  ship. 
The  sinker  carries  a  gauge  consisting  of  a  quill-tube  open 
at  the  lower  end  and  closed  at  the  top.  The  inside, 
which  is  coated  with  silver  chromate,  shows  by  the  dis- 
coloration produced  by  the  action  of  the  sea  water  how 
far  the  water  has  compressed  the  air  in  the  tube.  By 
comparison  with  a  graduated  ruler,  the  depth  is  then 
read  off.  When  the  sinker  reaches  bottom,  the  heavy 
weight  is  detached  automatically,  so  that  there  is  but 
little  strain  on  the  wire  as  it  ascends  with  its  thermom- 
eter and  battery  of  tubes  containing  samples  of  the 
depths  reached. 

A  story  is  told  in  connection  with  this  sounding-ma- 
chine which  shows  the  vivacity  and  wit  of  the  inventor. 
Having  brought  his  friend  Joule  into  White's  one  day, 
lie  pointed  to  a  number  of  coils  of  steel  wire  lying  on  the 
floor,  informing  his  English  friend  of  "mechanical- 
equivalent"  fame  at  the  same  time  that  he  intended  the 
wire  for  sounding  purposes.  Upon  Joule's  innocently 
asking  what  note  it  would  sound,  he  received  the  prompt 
answer,  ''the  deep  sea"! 

Another  subject  to  which  Sir  William  gave  some  atten- 
tion after  his  experiences  on  the  ocean  is  the  navigating 


386  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

compass.  His  observations  led  him  to  distrust  the  long^ 
heavy  needles  then  in  general  use  on  shipboard.  Be- 
sides the  friction  to  which  the  pressure  on  the  pivot 
gives  rise  and  which  necessarily  diminishes  the  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  needle,  there  was  another  objection,  due 
to  the  difficulty  experienced  in  successfully  applying 
steel  magnets  and  soft-iron  masses  to  compensate  for  the 
magnetism  of  the  ship  and  for  the  changes  induced  in  it 
by  change  of  place  in  the  earth's  magnetic  field. 

As  a  result.  Prof.  Thomson  devised  a  compass-card 
,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  lightness  and  sensitiveness. 
It  is  made  of  two  sets  of  magnets,  containing  four 
needles  each,  arranged  symmetrically  on  the  right  and 
left  of  the  pivot.  The  four  needles,  forming  a  set,  are 
of  unequal  length,  ranging  from  3i  to  2  inches,  with  the 
shortest  outermost.  Such  a  card,  with  its  associated  cor- 
rectors of  steel  magnets  and  soft-iron  balls,  has  added 
greatly  to  the  safety  and  certainty  of  navigation ;  and  as 
such,  it  is  used  to-day  in  the  merchant  service  and  in 
the  navies  of  most  countries  of  the  world. 

As  we  have  seen,  Thomson  had  the  keen,  racy  wit  of 
his  race.  Lecturing  before  the  members  of  the  Bir- 
mingham and  Midland  Institute  in  1883,  he  placed  him- 
self and  his  nationality  on  record  in  a  very  humorous 
way.  His  subject  was  "The  six  gateways  of  Knowl- 
edge." As  will  be  remembered  by  the  readers  of  The 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  old  Bunyan  likened  the  soul  to  a 
citadel  on  a  hill  having  no  means  of  communication  with 
the  outer  world  save  by  five  gates,  viz.,  the  eye  gate, 
the  ear  gate,  the  mouth  gate,  the  nose  gate  and  the  feel 
gate.  These  are  the  five  senses  by  which  we  obtain  our 
knowledge  of  the  material  world  which  surrounds  us. 
But  Prof.  Thomson  took  issue  with  Bunyan,  with  Reid 


LORD  KELVIN  387 

and  the  metaphysicians  of  all  time  in  maintaining  in  this 
lecture  that  we  have  six  gateways  of  knowledge  instead 
of  five,  justifying  the  position  which  he  took  by  affirming 
that  the  sense  of  touch  is  really  twofold,  one  of  heat  and 
the  other  of  force.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  he 
made  any  marked  impression  on  the  philosophic  thought 
of  the  day,  for  psychologists  continued  to  write  with  un- 
disturbed equanimity  of  the  five  senses  and  not  the  six. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Prof .  Thomson  said:  "The 
only  census  of  the  senses,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  that  ever 
before  made  them  more  than  five  was  the  Irishman's 
reckoning  of  seven  senses.  I  presume  the  Irishman's 
seventh  sense  was  common  sense ;  and  I  believe  that  the 
possession  of  that  virtue  by  my  countrymen,  /  speak  as 
an  Irishman,  I  say  the  large  possession  of  the  seventh 
sense  which  I  believe  Irishmen  have,  will  do  more  to 
alleviate  the  woes  of  Ireland  than  the  removal  of  '  the 
melancholy  ocean '  which  surrounds  its  shores. " 

For  the  successful  operation  of  cables,  telegraph  lines 
and  scientific  investigations  of  all  sorts,  a  system  of  prac- 
tical electrical  units,  accepted  by  all  companies  and 
countries  of  the  world,  was  soon  found  to  be  indispens- 
able. The  pioneer  in  the  movement  for  establishing  an 
international  system  of  electrical  standards  was  Mr.  J. 
Latimer  Clark,  who,  assisted  by  his  distinguished  part- 
ner, (Sir)  Charles  Bright,  prepared  a  paper  on  "The 
formation  of  Standards  of  Electrical  Quantity  and  Re- 
sistance,'*  which  was  read  at  the  Manchester  meeting 
of  the  British  Association  in  1861.  Prof.  Thomson  was 
present ;  and,  at  his  instance,  a  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  report  on  the  general  question  of  electrical  units. 
This  was  the  first  meeting  of  a  committee  that  was  des- 
tined to  accomplish  much  in  the  electric  and  electro- 


388  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

magnetic  field  ;  it  was  the  initial  impulse  of  a  movement 
that  brought  renown  to  the  entire  body  of  English  elec- 
tricians. Such  units  as  the  ohm,  the  volt  and  the  farad 
met  with  immediate  acceptance,  while  later  on  the 
ampere,  the  coulomb,  the  watt  and  the  joule  were 
introduced.  Among  the  members  of  this  body  besides 
Prof.  Thomson,  were  such  able  men  as  Clerk  Maxwell, 
Joule,  Lord  Rayleigh,  Sir  William  Siemens,  Johnstone 
Stoney,  Balfour  Stewart,  and  Carey  Foster. 

The  world  is  then  indebted  to  the  insistence  and  ad- 
vocacy of  Prof.  Thomson  for  the  general  acceptance  of 
the  **C.  G.  S."  system  of  measurement,  which  involves 
the  centimeter  (length),  the  gram  (mass),  and  the 
second  (time)  as  the  fundamental  units  from  which  all 
others  are  derived. 

Prof.  Thomson  has  claims  in  the  *' wireless"  field 
also ;  for  as  far  back  as  1855,  he  studied  the  nature  of 
the  discharge  of  a  condenser  and  proved  mathemati- 
cally that,  under  certain  conditions  easily  realized  in 
practice,  such  discharges  are  of  an  oscillatory  character, 
consisting  of  a  forward  and  a  backward  rush  of  elec- 
tricity between  the  two  coatings  of  the  condenser.  As 
pointed  out  on  page  92,  Prof.  Henry  had  reached  the 
same  conclusion  in  1842,  and  Helmholtz  in  1847 ;  but 
Thomson's  insight  into  the  phenomenon  is  keen  and  his 
mathematical  analysis  of  it  very  remarkable. 

Just  as  the  to-and-fro  motions  of  the  prongs  of  a 
tuning-fork  give  rise  to  sound-waves  in  the  air,  so  the 
electric  oscillation  due  to  a  condenser  discharge  sets  up 
in  the  universal  ether  electric  waves  which  flash  the 
news  of  the  world  over  continents  and  oceans  with  un- 
thinkable velocity. 


LORD  KELVIN  389 

By  special  request,  Sir  William  Thomson  gave,  in 
1884,  a  course  of  lectures  at  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore,  to  an  audience  of  "professional  fellow- 
students  in  physical  science,"  as  he  called  the  elite  of 
American  men  of  science,  twenty-one  in  number,  as- 
sembled to  hear  him.  These  accomplished  physicists  he 
also  affectionately  called  his  "twenty-one  coefficients." 

The  subject  was  the  wave-theory  of  light,  and  the 
object  of  the  lecturer  was  to  show  how  far  the  phenom- 
ena of  light,  such  as  its  transmission,  refraction  and 
dispersion,  could  be  explained  within  the  limits  of  the 
elastic  solid  theory  of  the  ether,  which  makes  that 
hypothetical  medium  rigid,  highly  elastic  and  non- 
gravitational.  From  the  very  first  lecture.  Sir  William 
assumed  a  cold  and  diffident  attitude  toward  the  rival 
theory  of  Clerk  Maxwell,  which  makes  light  an  electro- 
magnetic phenomenon ;  and  though  his  own  presented 
formidable  difficulties,  and  its  rival  was  universally  ac- 
cepted, the  veteran  Professor  assured  his  hearers  that 
the  elastic  solid  theory  is  the  "only  tenable  foundation 
for  the  wave-theory  of  light  in  the  present  (1884)  state 
of  our  knowledge." 

Despite  the  energy  which  he  displayed,  his  luminous 
argumentation  and  close  logic,  Kelvin  made  no  converts 
among  his  "twenty-one  coefficients";  and  it  soon 
became  evident  that  he  was  championing  a  lost  cause. 
Newton  did  the  same  when  he  held  tenaciously  to  the 
corpuscular  theory  of  light ;  and  in  doing  so,  let  it  be 
said,  that  he  retarded  the  acceptance  of  the  wave-theory 
and  the  advance  of  science  by  a  hundred  years. 

A  few  years  after  the  Baltimore  lectures,  official  rec- 
ognition of  his  distinguished  services  and  of  his  emi- 
nence in  science  came  to  Sir  William  Thomson  when,  in 


390  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

1892,  he  was  raised  to  the  peerage,  with  the  title  of 
Baron  Kelvin  of  Netherhall,  Kelvin  being  the  name 
of  a  stream  which  passes  near  the  buildings  of  the 
University  of  Glasgow  and  flows  into  the  Clyde,  while 
Netherhall  is  that  of  his  country-seat  at  Largs,  in  Ayr- 
shire, 40  miles  from  Glasgow. 

As  to  the  structure  of  matter,  Kelvin  lived  to  see  the 
"atom"  of  his  youth  and  mature  years  shattered  into 
fragments,  and  the  atomic  theory  of  matter  rapidly 
yielding  to  the  electronic.  Though  he  maintained  an 
open  mind  toward  the  new  school  of  physics,  he  was 
reserved  and  conservative  toward  the  revolutionary 
doctrine  of  extreme  radio-activists.  He  did  not  believe 
in  the  transformation  of  one  elementary  form  of  matter 
into  another ;  and  he  strenuously  combated  the  theory 
of  the  spontaneous  disintegration  of  the  atom. 

Notwithstanding  a  long  life  devoted  to  the  study  of 
mathematical  and  experimental  physics,  during  which 
Kelvin  unraveled  many  a  difficult  problem  in  electricity 
and  magnetism  and  added  many  a  beautiful  skein  to  the 
texture  of  our  knowledge  in  electrostatics  and  electro- 
kinetics, that  illustrious  man,  the  acknowledged  leader 
in  physical  science,  made  a  public  admission  in  1896 
which  caused  a  great  stir  throughout  the  scientific  world. 
It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  golden 
jubilee  of  his  professorship  of  natural  philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Glasgow.  Delegates  had  come  from  all 
parts  of  the  world ;  kings  and  princes  had  sent  their 
representatives;  universities  and  learned  societies  of 
every  country  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New  vied  with 
one  another  in  doing  honor  to  the  scientist  who  had 
figured  so  long  and  so  conspicuously  in  the  advances  of 
the  age.    It  was  on  that  solemn  occasion  and  in  presence 


LORD  KELVIN  391 

of  such  a  notable  assembly  that  Kelvin  made  the  aston- 
ishing admission  that,  although  he  had  been  a  diligent 
student  of  electricity  and  magnetism  for  a  period  ex- 
ceeding fifty  years,  and  although  he  had  pondered  every 
day  for  forty  years  over  the  nature  of  the  ether  and  the 
constitution  of  matter,  he  knew  no  more  about  their 
essence,  about  what  they  really  are,  than  he  knew  at 
the  beginning  of  his  professional  work. 

This  confession,  remarkable  by  reason  of  the  man 
who  made  it  and  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was 
made,  has  always  appeared  to  the  writer  of  these  lines 
as  having  more  of  the  ring  of  disappointment  in  it  than 
of  blank  failure.  Kelvin's  great  analytical  mind  early 
and  persistently  strove  to  penetrate  the  closely  guarded 
secrets  of  nature ;  and  because  Dame  Nature  did  not 
yield  to  his  open  sesame,  but  persisted  in  her  reticence, 
the  philosopher  grew  pessimistic  and  disappointed ;  and, 
under  the  sway  of  such  feelings,  he  summed  up  the  result 
of  his  life-quest  after  the  ultimate  problems  in  science 
and  pronounced  it  a  "failure." 

A  "failure"  it  was  not,  if  science  is  the  discovery 
and  registration  of  the  laws  of  God  as  revealed  in  the 
universe  of  mind  and  matter  ;  for  few  men  of  his  gener- 
ation, if  any,  made  more  contributions  of  the  first  order 
to  the  theory  of  electrostatics,  to  the  doctrine  of  en- 
ergy, to  hydrodynamics  and  the  thermo-electric  proper- 
ties of  matter.  This  note  of  disappointment,  or  wail  of 
despondency,  had  been  sounded  before  by  Faraday,  who 
said  that,  the  more  he  studied  electrical  phenomena, 
the  less  he  seemed  to  know  about  electricity  itself. 
Was  not  Laplace  animated  by  a  kindred  feeling  when 
he  spoke  about  the  infinitude  of  our  ignorance?  Lastly, 
was  not  this  intense  feeling  of  our  limited  powers  pre- 


392  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

cisely  that  which,  after  all  his  discoveries  in  mathe- 
matics, in  optics  and  in  celestial  mechanics,  made  New- 
ton compare  himself  to  a  child  standing  on  the  beach 
with  the  vast  ocean  of  truth  before  him,  unf athomed  and 
unexplored? 

Kelvin  gave  a  beautiful  example  to  the  world  when, 
after  resigning  the  chair  which  he  had  occupied  for 
fifty-five  years  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  he  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  enter  his  name  on  the  undergradu- 
ate list,  intimating  by  such  an  act  that,  whether  a  man 
is  a  professor-in-ordinary  of  natural  philosophy  or  a  pro- 
fessor emeritus,  he  must  ever  be  a  student,  in  close 
touch  with  nature. 

Lord  Kelvin  had  the  happiness  of  enjoying  good 
health  throughout  all  the  years  of  his  long  career,  a 
happiness  due  in  part  to  nature,  and  in  part  also  to  the 
simplicity,  frugality  and  regularity  of  his  life. 

As  already  said,  he  was  fond  of  cruising  in  European 
waters  in  his  yacht  Lalla  Rookh  during  the  summer 
months,  and  even  venturing  out  on  the  Atlantic  as  far 
as  Madeira,  for. 

He  loved  the  sea,  and  what  is  more. 
He  loved  it  best  when  far  from  shore. 

In  later  years,  however,  owing  to  facial  neuralgia,  he 
was  accustomed  to  spend  a  month  or  so  every  summer 
with  Lady  Kelvin  at  Aix-les-Bains,  from  which  visits 
he  always  derived  much  benefit. 

While  making  some  experiments  in  a  corridor  of  his 
beautiful  home  at  Netherhall,  he  caught  a  chill  on 
November  23d,  1907,  from  which  he  never  rallied,  de- 
spite the  cares  and  attentions  that  were  fondly  lavished 
upon  him.    The  bulletins  that  were  issued  concerning- 


LORD  KELVIN  393 

his  condition  were  read  all  the  world  over  with  more 
concern  than  if  they  referred  to  a  reigning  sovereign 
or  an  heir  apparent.  Every  teacher  of  physics,  math- 
ematical or  experimental ;  every  man  interested  in  the 
advance  of  science  and  the  spread  of  knowledge, 
anxiously  awaited  news  from  the  sick-room  of  the  illus- 
trious patient— news  that  was  transmitted  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  by  the  siphon-recorder  invented  by  the 
dying  scientist  in  the  heyday  of  his  hfe ;  and  when  the 
word  came  that  Kelvin  had  breathed  his  last,  that 
cablegram  brought  universal  sorrow  for  the  quenching 
of  the  brightest  light  of  the  age  and  the  loss  of  the 
leading  scientist,  the  model  man  and  faithful  Christian. 

It  was  in  the  fitness  of  things  that  the  man  who  wa& 
considered  the  greatest  since  Newton  should  be  buried 
in  Westminster  Abbey,  and  that  the  mortal  remains 
of  Lord  Kelvin  should  find  a  resting-place  next  to  the 
grave  of  the  genius  who  thought  out  the  Principia  and 
discovered  the  gravitational  law  which  governs  the 
planetary  as  well  as  the  stellar  universe. 

If  asked  to  say  what  impressed  me  most  in  Lord 
Kelvin,  I  would  mention  the  cordial  manner  in  which  he 
welcomed  those  who  sought  advice  ;  the  encouragement 
which  he  held  out  to  students  ;  his  absolute  devotion  to 
truth  ;  his  fair-mindedness  and  candor ;  his  reverence  in 
dealing  with  the  problems  of  the  soul  and  the  destiny  of 
man  ;  and  the  uniform,  tranquil  happiness  of  his  life, 
due,  under  God,  to  his  profound  religious  belief  and 
noble  Christian  life. 

A  man  of  strong  convictions,  Kelvin  did  not,  how- 
ever, wear  his  religion  on  his  sleeve,  but  treasured  it 
in  the  depths  of  his  heart,  where  it  was  never  dis- 
turbed by  the  tossing  and  ever-changing  wave-forms  of 


:394  MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 

individual  opinion.  He  quietly  but  uniformly  maintained 
that  physical  science  demands  the  existence  and  action 
of  creative  power ;  and  he  did  not  shrink  from  affirming 
this  conviction  whenever  circumstances  seemed  to  re- 
quire it,  as  was  the  case  on  the  memorable  occasion  of 
his  Presidential  address  to  the  members  of  the  British 
Association  in  1871.  In  concluding  that  brilliant  dis- 
course, he  said:  "But  strong,  overpowering  proofs  of 
intelligent  and  benevolent  design  lie  all  around  us  ;  and 
if  ever  perplexities,  whether  metaphysical  or  scientific, 
turn  us  away  from  them  for  a  time,  they  come  back 
upon  us  with  irresistible  force,  showing  to  us,  through 
nature,  the  influence  of  free  will,  and  teaching  us  that 
all  living  beings  depend  on  one  ever-acting  Creator  and 
Ruler." 

Once  when  particularly  disgusted  with  the  material- 
istic views  of  those  who,  while  denying  the  existence  of 
a  Creator,  attributed  the  wonders  of  nature,  animate 
and  inanimate,  to  the  potency  of  a  fortuitous  concourse 
of  atoms,  he  wrote  to  Liebig,  asking  him  if  a  leaf  or  a 
flower  could  be  formed  or  even  made  grov/  by  chemical 
forces,  to  which  he  received  the  significant  reply  from 
the  famous  chemist  of  Giessen  :  "  I  would  more  readily 
believe  that  a  book  on  chemistry  or  on  botany  could 
grow  out  of  dead  matter  by  chemical  processes." 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  custom  which  ob- 
tained in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  of  beginning  the 
daily  sessions  by  invoking  the  blessing  of  heaven  on  the 
work  about  to  be  undertaken.  Having  liberty  in  the 
matter  of  choice,  Prof.  Thomson  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose a  prayer  from  the  morning  service  of  the  Church 
of  England,  which  reads:  "0  Lord,  our  heavenly  Fa- 
ther, almighty  and  everlasting  God,  who  hast  safely 


LORD  KELVIN  395 

brought  us  to  the  beginning  of  this  day  ;  defend  us  in 
the  same  with  Thy  mighty  power  ;  and  grant  that  this 
day  we  fall  into  no  sin,  neither  run  into  any  kind  of 
danger  ;  but  that  all  our  doings  may  be  ordered  by  Thy 
governance,  to  do  always  what  is  righteous  in  Thy 
sight;  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  Amen." 

Academical  honors  were  showered  upon  Lord  Kelvin 
by  seats  of  learning,  ancient  and  modem ;  he  was  a  D. 
C.  L.  Oxford,  LL.D.  Cambridge,  and  a  D.  Sc.  London; 
he  was  President  of  the  Royal  Society  from  1890  to 
1895 ;  President  of  the  British  Association  in  1871 ; 
Knight  of  the  Prussian  Order  Pour  le  Merite,  and  For- 
eign Associate  of  the  Institut  de  France. 

His  published  works  include  a  ' '  Treatise  on  Natural 
Philosophy,"  2  vols.,  written  in  collaboration  with  Prof. 
Tait,  of  Edinburgh  (the  two  authors  were  often  referred 
to  as  T  and  T);  "Contributions  to  Electrostatics  and 
Magnetism";  "Collected  mathematical  and  physical  Pa- 
pers," 3  vols.;  "Popular  Lectures  and  Addresses," 
3  vols.;  and  the  "Baltimore  Lectures."  These,  as  well 
as  the  instruments  which  he  devised  for  navigation, 
for  the  finest  work  of  the  laboratory,  as  well  as  for  the 
commercial  measurement  of  current,  potential,  and  en- 
ergy, form  a  monument  to  Lord  Kelvin  that  will  be 
aere  pe'yfi.nniv^. 

Brother  Potamian. 


INDEX 


397 


INDEX. 


Abbey,  Westminster,  393 
Academical  honors,  395 
Academy  of  Science,  Royal,  202 
Action  at  a  distance,  356 
Adams  Prize,  339 
Addison,  215,  216 
Advancement  of  learning,  65 
Affinity,  70 
Agonic  line,  22,  23 
Akenside,  216 
Albert  the  Great,  36 
Albertus  Magnus,  70 
Alibert,  159 
Aldin,  141,  207 
Alfonso  el  Sabio,  8 
Almanack,  Poor  Richard's,  103 
Ampere,  Jean  Jacques,  233,   210, 

232,  361 
Amperean  currents,  214 
Amundsen,  30,  51 
Anaesthesia,  308 
Anaxagoras,  244 
Anatomy,  Comparative,  136 
Ancients  in  the  exact  sciences,  1 
Anderson,  381 
Anelectrica,  70 
Animal  electricity,   146,   149,   175, 

205,  320 
Annus  mirabilis,  86 
Apollonius,  244 
Arago,  177,  232,  243 
Archimedes,  1,  13,  139,  244,  213; 

burning  mirror,  14 
Architecture,  199 

Architectonics  of  metaphysics,  222 
Aristarchus  of  Samos,  53 
-Aristotle,  52 
Arsinoe,  Queen,  5 
Aspects  of  pain,  352 
Assisi,  Poor  little  man  of,  161 


Atheism,  160 

Atlantic  Telegraph  Co.,  373 

Atoms,  355 

Attraction  and  repulsion,  197 

Auenbrugger,  274 

Autobiography  of  Franklin,  126 

Ayrton,  369 

B 

Bacon,  Chancellor,  r"^ 

Bacon,  Roger,  3,  10,  64 

Balance,  Electric,  200 

Balancing  of  energies,  331 

Baltimore  lecture,  395 

Barlowe,  Wm.,  40,  70,  326 

Barometer,  70 

Barrett,  Father,  254 

Bassi,  I/aura,  154 

Battery,  Voltaic,  206 

Bauernfeind,  292 

Baxter,  Richard,  359 

Bear,  Little,  24 

Bede,  54 

Beet  sugar,  306 

Bembo,  Cardinal,  215 

Bence  Jones,  333 

Bernoulli,  236,  245,  348 

Bernoulli,  Daniel,  280 

Bernoulli,  Johann,  280 

Bertelli,  27 

Bertholinus,  147 

Berthollet,  224 

Beuve,  Saint,  253 

Bevis,  95 

Biot,  198,  203,  224 

Birds'  ears ;  kidneys;  semi -circular 

canals,  137 
Boethius,  54 
Bolivar,  255 
Bond,  70 
Bose,  87 


398 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Boyle.  70,  301 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  218 
Briggs,  50 

Bright,  Sir  Charles,  387 
Brook  Taylor,  280 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  70 
Brugnatelli,  Prof.,  179 
Brunetto  Latini,  9 
Buff  on,  14,  99,  132 
Bunyan,  386 
Burning  mirror,  14 
Byron,  328 


Cabanis,  246 

Cabeo,  3,  26,  73 

Cable,  submarine;  362,  telegraph, 
322     , 

Cabot,  Sebastian,  23 

Calculus  of  variations,  245 

Canada  balsam,  348 

Canals,  Semi-circular,  348 

Canton,  91 

Carthesian  ovals,  337 

Carminate,  Prof.,  141 

Cascade,  90 

Cassini,  26 

Cavallo,  26 

Cavendish,  93,  101,  173,  338;  Lab- 
oratory, 340 

Cayley,  364 

Cell,  Gun-cap,  380 

Charles,  Law  of,  173,  224 

Chelonian,  Complaisant,  52 

Chemical  manipulation,  307 

Childe  Harold,  328 

Christianity,  257 

Chrystal,  258 

Churchmen  in  Science,  162 

Cingari,  153 

Circle,  Graduated,  19 

Circuit,  70 

Clark,  Latimer,  218,  387 

Clausius,  348 

Clergymen  Pioneers  in  Electricity, 
162 

Clerk  Maxwell,  32,  94,  324 

Clerk  of  Penicuik,  335 

Cluny,  8 

Coffin  of  Mahomet,  5 


Coleridge,  261,  328 

Collinson,  Peter,  81 

Color  vision,  345 

Columbian  line,  23 

Columbus,  21,  23;  on  electricity,. 

208 
Como,  College  of,  172 
Compass -card,    386;    variation   of 

the,  25 
Concentration,  367 
Concourse  of  atoms,  394 
Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul, 

254 
Contributions  to  molecularphysics, 

285 
Copernicus,  54 
Copley  medal,  284 
Coulomb,  84,  93,  188;  character, 

203;  memoirs,  199 
Creator  and  Ruler,  394 
Creatures,  331 
Crookes,  86,  246 
Gumming,  70 
Cunatus,  87 

Current,  Oscillatory,  206 
Curves,  Rolling,  337 
Cuthberson,  361 
Cuvier,  252,  224 
Cynosure,  24 

D 

Dante,  161 

Darwin,  227,  327,  351 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry,  303,  326 

Davy,  209,  306 

D'Alembert,  280 

D'Alibard,  99,  106 

De  Causis  et  Sedibus  Morborum,. 

167 
Declination,  21 
De  Civitate  Dei,  5 
Degrees  and  residence,  205 
De  Heer,  284 
Dellman,  286 
De  Magnete,  35 
De  Mundo  Nostro,  61 
De  Mundo   Nostro    Sublunari,   63 
De  Natura  Rerum,  2 
De  Romas,  107 
De  Vi  Attractiva,  170 


INDEX 


399 


Be  Viribus  Electricitatis,  141 

Development,  Process  of,  228 

Devotion,  L,ife  of,  231 

Dewar,  41 

Dickerson,  William,  380 

Didactic  lecture,  295 

Digby,  Sir  Kenelen,  40 

Dip -circle,  30 

Discoveries  by  accident,  311;  in 
science,  283;  new,  251;  prac- 
tical, 213 

Disposer,  Great,  332 

Divinia  Commedia,  161 

Divisch,  107 

Dobereiner's  lamp,  173 

Dry den,  65 

Dubois,  Raymond,  298 

Dufay,  83,  95 

Dumas,  290 

Dynamics  of  bodies,  291 

Earth's  magnetism,  22 

Earthquakes  and  electricity,  148 

Earthquakes  and  magnetism,  315 

Ear  of  the  bird,  139 

Elastic  solids,  337 

Electrica,  70 

Electrical  bumper,   96;    jack,   95; 

pistol,    172;    treatment,    147; 

tube,  81 
Electricitatis,  134 
Electric   light,    316;    matter,    92; 

motor,  76 
Electricity,  70 
Electro -dynamics,  250 
Electromagnet,  70 
Electro-magnetics,  250 
Electro-magnetism,  70 
Electro -magnetismos,  41 
Electron,  86 
Electronic  theory,  85 
Electrophorus,  171 
Electroscope,  171 
Epilepsy,  292 
Epitaph  of  Franklin,  129 
Eratosthenes,  1 
Ether,  309;  universal,  60 
Euclid,  1 
Eudiometer,  172 


Eugenie,  Empress,  310 
Euler,  107,  236,  280 
Ewing,  42 

Examination  of  conscience,  79 
Existence,  History  of,  247 ;  of  God, 
354 

E 

Failure,  Triumph  of,  283,  391 

Faith,  Confession  of,  186 

Faraday,  32,  41,  189,  298,  338,  361, 
366;  eloquence,  323;  marriage, 
329 ;  money  making,  309 ;  note- 
books, 302,  317;  parents,  300; 
passing  of,  332 ;  perseverance, 
318;  poverty,  300;  statement 
of  law,  314 

Faraday -Maxwell  Theory,  344 

Father  of  Mercies,  327 

Father  of  Pathology,  167 

Fechner,  276,  284 

F^nelon,  235 

Fichte,  324 

Field,  Cyrus  W.,  322,  377,  384 

Field  of  force,  42 

Filial  tributes,  267 

Flavio  Gioja,  20 

Foster,  Carey,  388 

Foucault,  55 

Fourier,  363 

Fowler,  149 

Francis  I.,  Emperor,  110 

Franklin,  68,  77;  and  Paine,  128 

Franklinian  rods,   115 

Franz,  Father,  110 

Freedom  of  the  Press,  225 

Free  will,  352,  394 

Fresnel,  251,  361 

Frog  dancing  master,  151 

Fuller,  65 

Fulminating  pane,  89 

Future,  Truth  of,  331 


Galileo,  40,  245 

Gateway  of  Knowledge,  386 

Galtoni,  Father,  16,  8 

Galvani,  133,  205,  211;  anticipation: 

of  original    experiment,    144; 

Madame,    141 ;    the   physician. 

the  teacher,  151;  wife,  140 


400 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Galvanometer,  70,  375 

Garnett,  339 

Gasser,  28 

Gauss,  271,  375 

Gay-Lussac,  209 

Gellibrand,  26,  49 

Genius,  Precocious,  234 

Geometry,  1;  and  intellectual  cul- 
ture, 267,  268 

Gilbert,  3,  13,  26,  32 

Giliani,  Alessandra,  155 

Gioja,  200 

Gladstone,  236,  332 

Glass  harmonica,  115 

God  disposes,  289 

Goethe,  222 

Graduation,  Early,  165 

Graft,  192 

Graham,  26 

Gray,  Stephen,  77;  Prof.  Andrew, 
369 

Great  Eastern,  382 

Green,  70 

Gregory,  244 

Grind,  263 

Guericke,  Otto  von,  74 

Guyot  deProvins,  7 

Gymnotus  electricus,  150 

Gyrostat,  372 

H 

Hakewill,  216 

Hallam,  36 

Hamilton,  76 

Handy-men,  273 

Hansteen,  208 

Happy  in  life,  355 

Hartmann,  26,  31 

Harvey,  133,  334 

Hauksbee,  74 

Haiiy,  Abbe,  224 

Headaches,  52 

Helmholtz,  279,  321,  366 

Heis,  271 

Henry,  214,  361;  Joseph,  92,  284, 

206,  388 
Herapath,  348 
Herschel,  Sir  John,  225 
Hertzian  waves,  342 
-Hippocrates,  244 


Hobby,  345 

Holmes,  Oliver  Wendell,  262 

Homer,  235 

Horace,  204,  355 

Hottentots,  129 

Hunter,  John,  138 

Huyghens,  244 

Hymn  to  Mont  Blanc,  328 


Identity  of  lightning  and  electric- 
ity, 98 

II  mago  benefice,  184 

Imitation  of  Christ,  255 

Inclination,  70 

Induction,  311;  theory  of,  311; 
sparks,  316 

Institute  of  France,  202 

Interference,  Phenomena    of,   287 

Iron  filings,  3;  raspings  of,  2 

Isidore  of  Seville,  54 

Isomagnetic  lines,  24 

Invisible  things  of  God,  331 

Izarn,  207 


Jacobi,  284 

Jesuit  gymnasium,  270 

Johns  Hopkins  University,  389 

Joule,  385,  388 


K 

Kant,  119,  260 
Kelvin,  Lord,  139,  228,  258 
Keppler,  40,  333 
Kidneys  of  the  bird,  136 
Kinnersley,  83 
Kircher,  26,  41,  70 
Kite  incident,  131;  lightning,  121 
Klaproth,  7,  224 
Kleist,  Dean  von,  87 
Klopstock,  223 
Kneller,  Father,  177 
Knowledge,  subjective  and  objec- 
tive, 247 
Koerner,  223,  265 
Kohlrausch,  286 


INDEX 


401 


Laboratory,  First  physical,  368 

,X<aennec,  139 

Lagrange,  244,  343 

Lament,  270 

Larmor,  Dr.  Joseph,  66 

Langberg,  287 

Langsdorff,  260 

Languages,  Special  gift  for,  167 

Laplace,  254,  391 

Learning,  A  little,  160 

Lectures   to  the  working  people, 

350 
Leibnitz,  245 
Lejeune  Dirichlet,  271 
Lenz,  284 
Lesage,  219 
Lessing,  222 
Leverrier,  251 
Libri,  27 
Light    an    electric    phenomenon, 

344;  polarized,  316 
Lightning  conductor.  The  Divisch, 

111;  kite,  121;  rods,  101,  104, 

114;  storm,  116 
Life,  Future,  331;  happiness,  355 
Lines  of  magnetic  force,  313 
Linnaeus,  238 
Livius  Sanutus,  49 
Livres  dou  Tresor,  9 
Lockwood,  Thomas  D.,  275 
Lodestone,  2 

Lodge,  Sir  Oliver,  71,  246 
Lombroso,  246 
Lor,  M.  de,  122 
Lucretius,  2,  167 
Ludwig  I.,  278 
Lucan,  235 

M 

Mackenzie,  Colin,  358 

Machines,  Simple,  192,  199 

Magaud,  187 

Magiae  Naturalis,  35 

Magic,  Natural,  215 

Magnes,  Loadstone   challenge,  34 

Magnetic  declination,  47;  dip,  29; 
fields,  42,  313;  figures,  3;  in- 
clination, 31;  meridian,  45; 
.motor.  16 


Magnet  and  Chinese,  7;  flesh,  5; 
gold,  6;  polarity  of,  4;  white, 
6 

Magnetism,  70,  202;  into  electric- 
ity, 315 

Magnetismus,  40 

Magnetization,  Permanent,  206 

Magnetometer,  44 

Mahomet's  sarcophagus 

Makers  of  Modern  Medicine,  13 

Malebranche,  248 

Man  proposes,  289 

Manzolini,  Madame,  154 

Marcet,  Mrs.,  301 

Maria  Theresa,  110 

Mariotte,  245 

Marriage,  Faraday's,  329 

Marshall,  Chas.,  218 

Martinique,  191 

Martins,  298 

Mass  and  weight,  56;  of  the  earth, 
58 

Mathematics,  Without  a  taste  for, 
262 

Matter  and  force,  320;  ultimate 
structure  of,  282;  al  tripos,  364 

Maxwell,  313,  388;    the    man,  359 

Memberships,  Honorary,  332 

Memory,  Wonderful,  236 

Menon,  Abbe,  77 

Mental  powers  and  morals,  331 

Message,  Inaugural,  376 

Metaphysics,  247,  222 

Meteorological  machine,  112 

Mind,  Concentration  of,  169 

Mirror,  Galvanometer,  375 

Mitchell,  John,  84,189 

Mojon,  207 

Molecular  torrent,  86 

Molecules,  353 

Money-making,  Faraday   on,  309 

Monge,  224 

Montucla,  244 

Morality,  Absolute,  247 

Morrison,  Charles,  218 

Motion,  Perpetual,  18 

Moscow,  265 

Mottelay,  P.  Fleury,  66 

Mullaly,  John,  377 

Miiller,  Johann,  338 

Mullock,  Bishop,  373 


402 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Muscle-twitchings,  175 
Musschenbroek,  86,  211 
Myopia,  239 

N 

Napoleon,  179,  202,  247 

Near-sightedness,  239 

Negative,  126 

Neptune,  251 

Newe  Attractive,  33 

Newman,  Cardinal,  353 

Newton,  74,  139,  197,  244,  333,  389; 

Principia,  62,  208 
Nollet,  Abbe,  77,  95,  101,  170 
Norman,  29,  59 
Novum  Organum,  13 

O 

Oersted,  208,  232,  249;  discusses 
evolution,  227 

Ohm,  Martin,  262,  270 

Ohm's  law,  189,  251,  258;  of  acou- 
stics, 282;  goodness  of  heart, 
296 

Ohm's  personal  appearance,  293; 
preface,  274 

Olbers,  224 

Opus  Majus,  10 

Opus  Tertiam,  12 

Orb  of  virtue,  33 

Orchestrion,  115 

Origin  of  Species,  227 

Ostwald,  361 

Oval  curves,  337 

Ozanam,  253 


Paine,  127 

Palladius,  5 

Paralysis,  148 

Paris,  Dr.,  304 

Parkinson,  365 

Pascal,  256 

Pasteur,  185,  282,  310 

Pavia,  University  of,  173 

Pellagra,  184 

Pellico,  Sylvio,  187 


Peregrinus,  3,  8,  11 

Perry,  Prof.  John,  369 

Pfaff,  276 

Philosopher  of   Copenhagen,    210' 

Philosophia  Magnetica,  3 

Philosophical  Society,  307 

Philosophy,  Small  draughts  of,  160 

Physics  text-book,  291 

Pierre  le  P61€rin,  12 

Pile,  205 

Pivoted  compass,  9 

Plagiarism,  63 

Planta,  Martin  de,  74 

Plato,  1,  213 

Pliny,  4 

Poet  and  scientist,  323 

Poem,  Mathematical,  364 

Poggendorf,  276,  284,  375 

Pohl,  276 

Poincar^,  344 

Polaric,  24 

Polarity,  4,  200 

Polarization,  200 

Polyhedrons,  244 

Pope  Alexander  VI.,  24;  Clement 
IV.,  10;  Paul  III.,  54;  Leo  X., 
215 

Popularization  of  science,  350 

Porta,  215 

Positive,  126 

Potential,  70 

Potato,  174 

Pouillet,  284 

Power,  Feeble  directive,  51 

Preece,  Sir  William,  107 

Premonstratensian  Order,  107 

Premonition,  266 

Priestley,  106,   121,   167,    171,  231 

Pringle,  Sir  John,  101 

Priority  in  discoveries,  133 

Prometheus,  Modern,  119 

Providence,  327;  particular,  gen- 
eral, 127 

Pseudodoxia  Epidemica,  70 

Psychology,  246 

Ptolemy,  54 


Q 


Quacks,  52 
Quackery,  149 


INDEX 


403 


R 

.Radowitz,  General,  278 
Rainbow,  2>2>i 
Ramsay,  Sir  Wm.,  369 
Ramsden,  74 
Rayleigh,  Lord,  388 
Raymond  Lully,  10 
Reid,  368 
Religion,  129 
Republic,  Cis- Alpine,  156 
Repulsion,  Magnetic,  2 
Resurrection,  129 
Retina,  348 
Richet,  246 
Riclimann,  106 
RigM,  71 
Ritter,  224 
Robespierre,  114 
Roentgen,  211 
Romagnosi,  206 
Ronaldo,  219 
Ross,  Sir  James,  30 
Rotch,  104 
Rousseau,  238 
Rowland,  94 
Rush,  Benjamin,  165 


Sacchetti,  153 

: Samothracian  rings,  3 

Saturn's  Rings,  339 

Scarpa,  137 

Schelling,  224 

Schiller,  223 

Schlegel,  223 

Schweigger,  273 

Science  and  free  will,  352 ;  and  re- 
ligion, 185;  classification  of, 
252;  experimental,  37;  high 
priest  of,  295 

-Sebec,  281 

Secular  variation,  49 

Semi -circular  canals,  138 

Senses,  Seven,  387 

Series,  90 

Seventh  Sense,  387 

Shakespeare's  Cliff,  329 

Siena,  Cathedral,  115 

Siger,  17 


Silurus  electricus,  150 

Siphon-recorder,  375 

Skill,  Mechanical,  273 

Smith's  Prize,  336,  365 

Snell,  244 

Sophocles,  355 

Soundings  of  deep  sea,  384 

Sound,  Perception  of,  282 

Southey,  8 

Spectator,  215 

Spence,  Dr.,  82 

Sphere,  Electrified,  198 

Spirit    of   mathematical    analysis, 

262 
Squaring  of  the  circle,  243 
Saint   Aloysius,    134;    Augustine, 

53,  254;  Francis,  Third  Order 

of,  161:  Thomas,  63 
Saint-Hilaire,  Geoffroy,  252 
Statics,  199 

Stereoscope,  Real  image,  348 
Stethoscope,  139 
Stevin,  49 

Stewart,  Balfour,  388 
Stimmen  aus  Maria -L,aach,  177 
Stokes,  364 
Stoney,  388 
Strada,  216 

Strain  in  the  ether,  356 
Structure  of  physical  bodies,  282 
Stuber,  Dr.,  119 
Sturgeon,  70 

Sugar  from  beet-root,  306 
Sulzer,  176 

Superfluous,  Elimination  of,  283 
Suspension  of  the  earth,  60 
Swammerdam,  144 


Taisnier,  26,  63 

Tait,  334,  337,  342 

Tampering  with  the  lodestone,  6 

Tandem,  90 

Taprobane,  5 

Tasso,  166,  235 

Taylor's  scientific  memoirs,  276 

Telephone,  70 

Terrella,  44 

Terrestrial  magnetism,  51 


404 


MAKERS  OF  ELECTRICITY 


Terror,  Reign  of,  201 

Test-nail  method,  44 

Text -books,  Maxwell's,  349 

Thales,  2 

Theory  of  induction,    314;  of  the 

Leyden-jar,  88;  two-fluid,  126 
Th^venot,  20 
Thimble -cell,  379 
Thompson,  James,  362;   Silvanus 

P.,  27,  63,  80,  371;  Wm.,  361 
Thunderbolt,  117 
Toaldo,  Padre,  115 
Torpedo,  150 
Torsion  balance,  84,  188 
Torque,  200 
Tripos,  365 

Truth  of  the  future,  331 
Twitchings  of  frogs,  135 
Tycho  Brah6,  68 
Tyndall,  299 


U 

Uhland,  223,  265 

Understanding   and   personal   in- 
vestigation, 268 
University  degrees,  265 
Unworkable,   357;  extension,   225 
Uranus,  251 


Van  Helmont,  70 
Van  Troostwijk,  361 
Variation  of  the  compass,  21 
Vaults,  The  statics  of,  191 
Venedey,  271 
Venturoli,  156 
Verses,  Latin,  239 


Virchow,  293 

Virgil,  166 

Virgilius,  53 

Vitry,  Cardinal  Jacques  de,  8 

Volta,   162 ;  anticipation    of,    176; 

faith,  186;  honored,  180;  piety, 

183 ;  pile,  177 
Voltaic  pile,  176 
Voltaire,  235 
Vortex,  372 

W 

Wallace,  244,  246 

Watson,  70,  95 

Waves,  Hertzian,  342 

Wealth,  Three  ways  to,  127 

Weber,  342 

Weight,  Accidental,  57;  and  mass 

of  the  earth,  56,  58 
Wenckebach,  21 
Werner,  224 
Wheatstone,  70 
Wilson,  Dr.  Benjamin,  101 
Wimshurst,  74 
Windmills,  199 
Winkler,  91 
Winkelmann,  222 
Works,  sham,  pilfered,  distorted, 

63;  under-water,  99 
Worthies  of  England,  65 


Young,  313 


Zak,  Father  Alphons,  108 


FORDHAM    UNIVERSITY  PRESS  SERIES 

MAKERS  OF  MODERN  MEDICINE-A  series  of  Biogra- 
pliies  Oi  the  men  to  whom  wo  owe  the  important  advances  in  the 
development  of  modern  medicine.  By  James  J.  Walsh,  M.  D., 
Fh.  D.,  LL.D.,  Dean  and  Professor  of  the  History  of  Medicine  at 
Fordham  University  School  of  Medicine,  N.  Y.  Second  Edition, 
1909.    362  pp.    Price,  $2.00  net. 

The  London  Lancet  said :  ' '  The  list  is  well  chosen,  and  we  have  to 
express  gratitude  for  so  convenient  and  agreeable  a  collection  of 
biographies,  for  which  we  might  otherwise  have  to  search  through 
many  scattered  books.  The  sketches  are  pleasantly  written,  inter- 
esting, and  well  adapted  to  convey  the  thoughtful  members  of  our 
profession  just  the  amount  of  historical  knowledge  that  they  would 
wish  to  obtain.     We  hope  that  the  book  will  find  many  readers." 

The  New  York  Times:  "The  book  is  intended  primarily  for  stu- 
dents of  medicine,  but  laymen  will  find  it  not  a  little  interesting." 

// Morgagni  (Italy) :  "Professor  Walsh  narrates  important  lives  in 
modern  medicine  with  an  easy  style  that  makes  his  book  delightful 
reading.  It  certainly  will  give  the  young  physician  an  excellent  idea 
of  who  made  our  modern  medicine." 

The  Lamp:  ' '  This  exceptionally  interesting  book  is  from  the  prac- 
ticed hand  of  Dr.  James  J.  Walsh.  It  is  a  suggestive  thought  that 
each  of  the  great  specialists  portrayed  were  god-fearing  men,  men 
of  faith,  far  removed  from  the  shallow  materialism  that  frequently 
flaunts  itself  as  inherently  worthy  of  extra  consideration  for  its  own 
sake." 

The  Church  Standard  {Protestant  Episcopal) :  ' '  There  is  perhaps 
no  profession  in  which  the  lives  of  its  leaders  would  make  more 
fascinating  reading  than  that  of  medicine,  and  Dr.  Walsh  by  his 
clever  style  and  sympathetic  treatment  by  no  means  mars  the  interest 
which  we  might  thus  expect." 

The  New  York  Medical  Journal:  "We  welcome  works  of  this 
kind ;  they  are  evidence  of  the  growth  of  culture  within  the  medical 
profession ,  which  betokens  that  the  time  has  come  when  our  teachers 
have  the  leisure  to  look  backward  to  what  has  been  accomplished." 

Science:  "The  sketches  are  extremely  entertaining  and  useful. 
Perhaps  the  most  striking  thing  is  that  everyone  of  the  men  de- 
scribed was  of  the  Catholic  faith,  and  the  dominant  idea  is  that  great 
scientific  work  is  not  incompatible  with  devout  adherence  to  the  tenets 
of  the  Catholic  religion." 


THE  POPES  AND  SCIENCE— The  story  of  the  Papal  Rela- 
tions to  Science  from  the  Middle  Ages  down  to  the  Nineteenth 
Century.  By  James  J.  Walsh,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  LL.D.  440  pp. 
Price,  $2.00  net. 

Prof.  Pagei.,  Professor  of  History  at  the  University  of  Berlin: 
' '  This  book  represents  the  most  serious  contribution  to  the  history 
of  medicine  that  has  ever  come  out  of  America." 

Sir  Ci,ifford  Ai,i,butT,  Regius  Professor  of  Physic  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  (England) :  "  The  book  as  a  whole  is  a  fair 
as  well  as  a  scholarly  argument." 

The  Evening  Post  (New  York)  says :  ' '  However  strong  the  reader's 
.prejudice  *  *  *  *  he  cannot  lay  down  Prof.  Walsh's  volume  without 
|at  least  conceding  that  the  author  has  driven  his  pen  hard  and  deep 
into  the  '  academic  superstition  '  about  Papal  Opposition  to  science." 
In  a  previous  issue  it  had  said :  ' '  We  venture  to  prophesy  that  all 
who  swear  by  Dr.  Andrew  D.  White  s  History  of  the  Warfare  of 
Science  With  Theology  in  Christendom  will  find  their  hands  full, 
if  they  attempt  to  answer  Dr.  James  J.  Walsh's  The  Popes  and 
Science." 

The  Literary  Digest  said :  ' '  The  book  is  well  worth  reading  for 
its  extensive  learning  and  the  vigor  of  its  style." 

The  Southern  Messenger  says :  ' '  Books  like  this  make  it  clear 
that  it  is  ignorance  alone  that  makes  people,  even  supposedly  edu- 
cated people,  still  cling  to  the  old  calumnies." 

The  Nation  (New  York)  says:  " The  learned  Fordham  Physician 
has  at  command  an  enormous  mass  of  facts,  and  he  orders  them 
with  logic,  force  and  literary  ease.  Prof.  Walsh  convicts  his  oppo- 
nents of  hasty  generalizing  if  not  anti-clerical  zeal." 

The  Pittsburg  Post  says :  ' '  With  the  fair  attitude  of  mind  and  influ- 
enced only  by  the  student's  desire  to  procure  knowledge,  this  book 
becomes  at  once  something  to  fascinate.  On  every  page  authorita- 
tive facts  confute  the  stereotyped  statement  of  the  purely  theological 
publications." 

Prof.  Wei^ch,  of  Johns  Hopkins,  quoting  Martial,  said:  "It  is 
pleasant  indeed  to  drink  at  the  living  fountain-heads  of  knowledge 
after  previously  having  had  only  the  stagnant  pools  of  second-hand 
authority." 

Prof.  Piersol,  Professor  of  Anatomy  at  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, said :  "I  have  been  reading  the  book  with  the  keenest 
interest,  for  it  indeed  presents  many  subjects  in  what  to  me  at  least 
is  a  new  light.  Every  man  of  science  looks  to  the  beacon — truth— 
as  his  guiding  mark,  and  every  opportunity  to  replace  even  time- 
honored  misconceptions  by  what  is  really  the  truth  must  be  wel- 
comed." 

The  Independent  (New  York)  said:  "Dr.  Walsh's  books  should 
be  read  in  connection  with  attacks  upon  the  Popes  in  the  matter  of 
science  by  those  who  want  to  get  both  sides." 


DATE  DUE 

OCT 

1  7  ?nnn 

MAY 

("IM  I 

UNIVERSITY  PRODUCTS,  INC.   #859-5503 

BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031   00029209  4 


QC514      O'Reilly 

.08  Makers   of   electricity 


Date  Dne 

Catherine  B.  O'Connor  Library 

Weston  Observatory 

Weston  93,  Massachusetts 


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